Rendezvous
by bloomacncheez
Summary: In 2014, Tetsuya Saito returns from the Abyss of Time. In additon to fulfilling his promise, his abilities are being called upon once again. But this time, he has someone to protect him. Persona3/Persona4 Crossover. Contains OCs and new storyline.
1. Prelude

**RENDEZVOUS**

**Authour's Note: Hello! BMNC here, bringing you the sequel to my fanfic, _Faux Pas. _Likely, if you haven't read the first one, this ill make no sense to you. Also, I promise this gets better after the prelude. It's just a little slow to introduce everything. Sorry... orz ...Thank you for taking the time to look at this. Enjoy the sequel.**

**Prelude**

Eternal darkness. No light at the end of a tunnel. Endless darkness. Darker than any time or place. Between life and death. Held against a door by chains. It was not the gates of Heaven. It was not the gates of Hell. It wasn't even Purgatory. Without a soul, none of them can be entered. The eye. The shadow. A statue. The door. Bringer of Death. Messenger. Seal. Forever sealed away.

No sound. No sight. No joy. But it wasn't Hell. No evil. No death. No suffering. But it wasn't Heaven. A voice? A word. Familiar language… A title. My title. A light? A color. Familiar blue… A butterfly…?

The chains break. Falling… Stop. Ground? Inhale. Breathing? Look. Sight? Move. Feeling? …sound…?

"Hello, Tetsuya Saito. It's been a very long time…"

* * *

Blackness began to fade into a variety of color. Strange yellow clouds in this perplexing room… A large door with many eyes… hanging barbed wire held something up against it…? Where am I? My eyes moved upward to see the one who spoke. I've seen her before. Blue dress, white hair, yellow eyes… it has to be. Slowly, I spoke to her.

"…E-Elizabeth…?" I asked. She flashed a smile of pearly teeth.

"Oh…!" she gasped, "It worked…!"

Bending down, she wrapped her arms around me. Natural body heat radiates through the material of her clothes… I haven't felt "warm" in a long time…

"I'm so happy that I found a way to get you out!" she exclaimed.

Get me out…? My memory's still fuzzy… Where am I? What's going on…? I searched through my foggy memories, trying to figure it out. The last thing I remember is resting my head in Aigis' lap… But nothing after that… Hardly much before it either…

My joints ache as if I remained stiff for a long period of time… My eyes can barely stand the light. What happened to me?

"Elizabeth…? What's going on…?" I asked. She looked at me with a smile.

"Oh, of course," she said, "It shouldn't surprise me that you cannot remember. Allow me to refresh your memory."

Holding her hand out, she dropped a key in mine. It began to glow, blinding my vision. I squinted until the light died down. I was in darkness again. A starry sky. Space? I feel as if I'm lying on glass. Another light shone from above, catching my attention. When I looked up, I saw… myself? What is this?

My other self floated in space, index finger extended towards a massive being. Nyx…? An explosion of light, and my other self was swallowed. When the light faded again, the door from the other room was there. A comparably tiny statue was bound against the door with barbed wire… Wait…

…it's me. The statue is me. My bare body as a limp, dead being. Suddenly, everything came clear. That was me but a few minutes ago… I was sealing the door. I was a seal. Nyx was behind that door. The eye I had been aware of for… however long I was here. This was what happened when I defeated Nyx… When I did what S.E.E.S. supposedly couldn't do.

The scenario faded back to the present, though it appeared no different. Why is the statue still up there if I'm down here? I don't understand.

"Do you remember?" Elizabeth asked quietly, "You've been the Great Seal. You've been the one standing betwixt Nyx and Erebus. You protected many from the Fall. You sacrificed your soul, which became the seal."

"…yes… I… I remember…" I said quietly, sitting up slowly, "…so this is where I've been… all this time…"

"The Abyss of Time," Elizabeth clarified, "Yes... you've been here a very long time. I've been trying to retrieve your soul from this prison. And here you are. After four years…"

Whoa, what?

"F-Four years?" I exclaimed.

"Indeed," Elizabeth said, "Amazing how time flies, isn't it?"

"Yeah! No kidding! Way to hit me with a bombshell!" I said, "…four years…? I've been away from the world for four years? …what happened to everyone else…?"

Elizabeth smiled.

"They're living their lives," she said. My heart sank a little. Living their lives, huh? As if nothing happened?

"…do they… remember…?" I asked, "Do they remember S.E.E.S. or the Dark Hour, or… anything…?"

"Of course they do," Elizabeth told me, "In fact… almost exactly four years ago, they came to this very place to find you. They all miss you just as much as I did."

That's a relief, I guess. I sighed, hanging my head a little. Part of me still felt a little empty inside.

"So… now what?" I asked. Elizabeth cocked her head.

"What ever do you mean?" she asked, "We take you back out into the world again. You're alive again, aren't you? Don't tell me you don't want to continue living."

I was surprised.

"B-But I… It's not that simple. I never finished high school. I can't just go back to Gekkoukan," I said, "Won't it be kind of weird if I try to enroll? The teachers will know me… …and… I mean… am I still… eighteen?"

"No need to worry," Elizabeth said, handing me a towel, "Here. My master and I will explain everything when we return to the Velvet Room."

I took the towel, looking at it curiously. The hell? What's this for? I started to hold it against my chest, when I suddenly realized that… I could feel the towel on my chest. It's been so foggy; I didn't think to look down. My eyes lowered to my body for the first time since I had awoken.

Holy crap! Why am I naked? I wrapped the towel around my waist quickly.

"You could have said something sooner!" I exclaimed, cherry-cheeked and slightly irritated with Elizabeth. She smiled slyly.

"I do apologize," she said coyly, "I didn't realize that you were shy. After all, why should you be?"

What the what-? Has she been looking at me this whole time? That's like, non-physical molestation! But she hugged me! So it was molestation! This is why I used to hate when people touched me! You can't trust anyone! That sneaky little-

"Now then," she said, interrupting my panicked thoughts, "We must make haste. We don't want Erebus to realize that you're awake, do we? Shall we leave?"

Despite my fluster, I had to drop it. It's more important for me to know what's going on and what I have to do next. Or what to expect at least.

Very slowly, I pushed myself off the floor, balancing on jelly-legs. How strange to have a surface beneath my soles again… I held tightly to the ends of the towel, tying them together to fashion somewhat of a skirt. This is ridiculous. I look like an idiot.

Elizabeth held out another key, and it flashed brightly again. Enough already, jeez. When my eyesight came back, I realized I was in a dark area. It kinda looked like the inside of a private jet… Where is this?

"Ah, I've seen this face before! Welcome to the Velvet Room!"

I looked over quickly, recognizing the voice.

"I-Igor?" I asked. The old man grinned his mysterious grin. He sat at a small table with a variety of cards placed before him. Tarot cards… A woman sat beside him, staring at me. She looks a bit like Elizabeth…

"I see Elizabeth has finally succeeded in bringing you back," Igor smiled, "Very good."

"Sister, is this…?" the woman asked. Elizabeth grinned.

"The same. I told you I would find a way," she said proudly. She looked over at me, "Tetsuya, this is my older sister, Margaret. She's been taking my place as my master's assistant."

"Does this mean… you're coming back?" Margaret asked hopefully. Elizabeth nodded.

"Of course," she said, "After all, I want to be here for Tetsuya whenever he needs me."

Igor smiled pleasantly.

"Well, it's good to have you back, Elizabeth," he said, then looking at me, "And it's very good to see you're back and well."

He continued to stare at me, and Margaret stared longer, blushing. Holy shit, are they-? AUGH! I didn't need to know this about the Velvet Room people! I can honestly say I'm disturbed to have these people in my dreams!

"Stop looking at me," I said finally, holding onto the tie of the towel tighter. Their eyes shifted to my face, thank God.

"You've sealed away the end of the world for a good four years now, haven't you?" Igor asked, somehow just changing the subject, "I always thought you had reached the end of your journey… very curious."

Margaret was still looking. Dammit, stop it.

"Can I… uh… can I get a change of clothes or something?" I asked. Igor cackled and Margaret looked away shyly. Elizabeth glared at her.

"Oh, of course! My apologies!" Igor hooted, "Theodore, bring a set of clothing for out guest."

From another room, a tall man stepped out with a small set of blue clothes. He, too, resembled Elizabeth. Brother, maybe? He looked at me, surprised.

"Dear sister?" he asked, "You're back…. With a boy?"

Yeah. Brother.

"Yes, Theo, I'm back with a boy. Stop looking at him," Elizabeth said, clearly getting irritated. She has no room to be mad. I'm the one clad only in a towel. She looked back at me, a little distressed.

"I apologize for my sister and brother, Tetsuya," she mumbled, "There's a small bathroom up front that you can change in. When you're finished, we have some things we need to discuss."

With a single nod, I quickly shuffled over to Elizabeth's brother and accepted the clothes with a gruff word of thanks, making my way to the bathroom immediately afterwards. I could hear giggling from the other side of the door as I locked it, followed by the cackling of an old man. Oh, yeah. Go ahead and laugh. I bet it's bigger than yours.

Sighing, I dropped the towel and began dressing in the blue apparel. I notice immediately that the legs of the pants and the sleeves of the shirt are a bit longer than I would care for. Was this the smallest they had? The markings on the material are similar to those on Elizabeth's and her siblings'… Velvet Room designs…? Who designed these…? …and why the hell do I even care? They're clothes. Screw it.

I peeked into the mirror, just to humor myself. I look the same as before, yet different… I still appear to be eighteen, but… I don't look nearly as tired as I did the last time I saw myself… of course, that was when I had lost my soul. …so how am I standing here now? Why is this happening four years later…?

…I guess that's why I'm here in the Velvet Room… They have all the answers, whether or not they choose to give them to me. I don't really have a choice, do I? Elizabeth brought me back here for a reason. And they were going to fill me in on what I needed to know. All that was left was to open the door.

After a moment of hesitation, I slowly turned the handle on the door, walking out into the cabin of the plane where the four inhabitants waited for me patiently. As if that was all they did…

Elizabeth's brother smiled at me.

"Those suit you nicely," he said.

"Th-Thanks… um… Theo," I muttered, and went on when he nodded approvingly, "I think they might be a little too big, though."

"That'll fix itself, don't you worry," Elizabeth said nonchalantly, "Please sit down. My master would like to speak with you about returning to your world."

Igor smiled a little, not particularly in a pleasant or sarcastic way, but a smile nonetheless. I took a seat across from him in the small booth of the plane, pulling agitatedly at my drooping sleeves.

"Now…" he said, "A few things you might experience upon your return. Since four years have passed and you have basically been frozen in time, you'll have a lot of catching up to do in growth. You have aged, but you'll be catching up to your age and height in a short time span. Think of it as nothing more than a growth spurt."

Ah. Fun. Growing pains. Hope I don't get stretch marks or anything… But growing pains are the least of my concerns. If I skipped four years of my life, do I have to go through senior year as a twenty-two year old?

"So… um… about school?" I asked, "Do I need to enroll somewhere…? I don't think I can go back to Gekkoukan. That might be difficult to explain."

Margaret giggled a little bit, then dropping the smile when I looked in her direction.

"That is an interesting thing to be concerned about…" Igor chuckled, "Not to worry. You were asked on several occasions throughout the years to skip a grade, weren't you? You're a bright boy."

Normally, I wouldn't have minded that remark, but the fact that the man was just looking at me half-naked sort of clouds the compliment.

Elizabeth placed a rolled up paper in my lap, and it confused me.

"What's this?" I asked.

She smiled a little, replying,

"A diploma, courtesy of the Velvet Room. Since you already have the required curriculum for a final year and passed before that was possible. A man of your caliber can probably go to whatever university you want. You should be proud."

That still wasn't really my main concern. I lowered my head a little, confused. None of this explained why I came back or what finally worked for Elizabeth.

"What am I doing here…?" I asked, "I've been… wherever I was for four years, and now you're telling me that I can just go back into the world? Just like that…?"

Igor didn't respond right away, and when I looked at him, I realized he was deep in thought.

"To be honest," he said softly, "I'm not entirely sure… You've returned to begin a new journey. Perhaps… there were still some regrets…?"

I frowned, puzzled.

"But… I found the answer to life's greatest question… what more is there? And when I find that answer, does that mean I just die again?" I asked.

"Not necessarily," he said, "The problem before was that you didn't have a soul. My last two guests ended their journeys without ending their lives. You sacrificed everything you had because it was your only way out. They had other options. If you think about it, your end was rather admirable…"

"So why am I back?" I asked, "If my death was supposed to be sacrificial and fated, why would I come back? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of my sacrifice completely?"

Igor sighed, folding his hands and resting them against his lips.

"Someone… must have had other plans," he said, "Perhaps… a sacrifice for a sacrifice. It would make sense if you think about it."

"I had my suspicions about it, but I thought not to look into it. Perhaps, that is my next mission?" Elizabeth asked.

"W-Whoa, whoa, whoa," I stammered, "What do you mean? Someone died to bring me back? And I'm supposed to be okay with that? What the hell?"

"No, it wasn't an ultimate sacrifice… I can tell by reading you…" Margaret said, hesitant, "But… they gave a fair trade…"

The hell? "Reading"…? Stop what you're doing. Creep.

Igor smiled a little.

"I'm sure that if you look, you'll find the answer. Only time will tell what the future holds for you," he said mysteriously, "For now, you should go back. See the world you risked everything for. Go forth on your new journey."

I stood up quickly.

"Wait, you just bring me back after four years and now you're sending me off into the world like I can adapt?" I asked, "I don't have a place to go. I don't know what's happened in the last four years. I was dead. How can you expect me to be okay on my own?"

Elizabeth smiled.

"My, you have it all thought out," she said, amused by my concern, "You shouldn't have to worry about where you'll turn up. You left a mark on the Earth. It will give back to you. …oh, or were you talking about monetary concerns?"

"Um… not… not really…" I muttered, "Though I'm pretty sure I don't have any of what I did before… I can manage…"

Elizabeth was up in an instant with a rather bulky coin purse.

"Now, now," said she, "Don't be modest."

She took a fistful of yen and shoved it into my pocket. Immediately, the shirt sagged heavily. The funny part is that it wasn't actually coins she put in there. Meanwhile, her siblings and Igor were stifling laughter.

"W-Whoa. Um. Okay, that's uh… really… not…" I started.

"Not enough?" she asked pulling out another fistful and filling the other pocket until it too sagged heavily.

WHERE THE HELL DOES SHE ACQUIRE ALL OF THIS MONEY?

"Okay, you're seriously giving me too much," I told her.

"Nonsense," Elizabeth said, starting to pull out another handful, but I jerked backwards quickly.

"No! Seriously, Elizabeth, I'm more than fine!" I insisted.

She shrugged and replaced the money.

"Fine, suit yourself," she pouted.

Igor controlled himself before addressing me once again.

"Well, I don't see any reason for you to be unprepared now. Of course, we won't send you back if that's not what you want…"

Not what I want…? What else would I do? I have the rest of my life ahead of me… Whoever gave me this second chance… must have done it for a reason… To waste whatever they sacrificed… would be kind of selfish… wouldn't it…?

"No, I… I want to go back to the world," I said, "…I want… to see everything again."

The four stared at me for awhile before a slight smile curved Igor's lips.

"Then I wish you well on your journey…" he said, "The world awaits you…"

Elizabeth smiled at me, much like a mother would, and she waved to me as a bright white light engulfed the Velvet Room.

* * *

Before my vision faded in, the sound of birds and wind filled my ears. Slowly, I opened my eyes to a familiar sight… How long it had been. I almost felt as if I was supposed to be there. The world was so beautiful, especially knowing that the Shadows no longer roamed about. The sun was in the west, casting a film of orange over the land and everything on it. Endless hills rolled into the horizon, outside the fence that separated the land from the lined-up structures that surrounded me.

I looked a little closer, suddenly realizing what they were. My heart sank a little, depressed at the sight of so many tombstones. Why… was I here…? I looked behind myself at the tombstone I stood before, in awe of its beauty. It seemed like a rather extravagant burial, implying either a great hero or someone with a lot of money. A bouquet of dying flowers lay upon one of the ledges and a small package of sushi was placed carefully on another. People still stopped by here…

Curiously, my eyes searched for the name of the deceased. As I scanned the tomb, something grabbed my attention. Writing… something I'd known all my life…

_Tetsuya Saito_

… … …

Seeing my own name on a tombstone… I never really thought about seeing it like this… Could… my old body still be in there? My old body, scarred with the wounds of Shadows and tainted innocence. The loss of friends and the loss of family. Horrid memories and unforgettable images… I'd been buried there for four years… surely, my remains were nothing but a pile of dry, cracked bones… my chest contracts just picturing it…

"I'm kinda surprised she wouldn't come with us… she always came with us before."

"I dunno… Maybe she doesn't admit it, but as time passes, it gets harder for her. You know she loved him, too…"

I turned my head toward the end of the row, curious to see who had spoken. These voices… I can't be sure, but… I feel like I've heard them somewhere before. In my past life, perhaps? God, I never thought I'd be able to say that and be serious about it.

Two figures approached from the end of the row. A young man and woman reached the top of stairs, each carrying a single lily. The young woman was very beautiful, her light brown hair flipped to one side. The young man wore a baseball cap, his face angular and streaked with a small goatee.

…

Wait… …could it be…?

They both looked up, at first seeming only a little surprised by the presence of another. But as they began to gaze at me, I could see my emotions mirror in their faces. The young woman's jaw gaped slightly and the white lily in the young man's hand slipped slowly from his grasp, dropping to the floor gracefully.

As I gaze into each of their eyes, I know it immediately. They gaze back, and I know they understand as well. How long it has been indeed…


	2. The Journey

**Rendezvous**

**Chapter One**** – The Journey**

Endless silence dragged on as I stared into the eyes of the once-strangers before me. They stared back, frozen in a stupor that I completely understood. After all, I could hardly believe it either. Standing on two feet again in the atmosphere of the peaceful Earth… Even if I hadn't been gone, it would have seemed like it was too good to be true…

The young woman's hands rose to her mouth, and she began to weep silently as she continued to gaze at me. The young man slowly and cautiously approached me, wary as if I might attack him. As soon as he was within three feet of me, I knew for sure it was him. He was a lot taller than I remembered, as was she. The young woman came to me a bit quicker, and I was quick to recognize her as well.

Both stood before me quietly, trembling a little in shock. They look a bit more mature, but… it's definitely them. Even when they stood at a distance, I knew. And they remembered me too, but I supposed that's to be expected. Igor said that I haven't changed in appearance at all. There was no mistaking it. They knew who I was.

The young man finally croaked softly,

"T-Tetsuya…?"

I tried to smile at him, but my weariness and overwhelmed condition kept it down to a slight turn of the lips.

"Junpei…"

I looked at the woman, who had let out a soft squeak when I spoke.

"Yukari…"

Both pairs of eyes widened as I identified them, finally seeming to realize the reality of my existence. Yukari finally let out a sob and threw her arms around me tightly. She's warm too… Even though it feels like I was never away… I missed human contact… Heh… this coming from the guy who flinched when someone's hand brushed against him…

"Oh my God… It's you… I can't… I don't even… How-?" Yukari bawled into my shoulder.

Junpei, on the other hand, didn't seem as convinced that this was real.

"H-Hey-! Yuka-tan! What the hell? He could be a zombie for all you know!" he barked.

He pointed at me accusingly.

"Unhand her, zombie! I've played Silent Hill and I know how to deal with the likes of you!"

I laughed for the first time since my revival, finally able to grin. Yeah. It was them alright…

"Good to see you again too, Junpei," I said, extending an arm to him.

As soon as I had, Junpei's frown fell immediately with tears. Reduced to sobs, he threw his arms around me too, rubbing his wet, stubbly cheeks against mine without caring about how masculine it was.

"Tetsuya… I missed you…" he wept.

"I missed you, too… both of you…" I said quietly, suddenly feeling for the first time that we had really been apart. I feel like… it was only yesterday afternoon that we were walking into the school together… Maybe… when I see them like this, time feels like it's finally catching up…

"This is for real, isn't it…?" Yukari asked softly, "You're really here… You're… standing right here…!"

Her hold tightened and she nuzzled her face against my cheek as she continued to cry silently, the tears tracking down my own face and making me feel as if I were sobbing too.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come back sooner…" I said quietly, "I never wanted to leave you in the first place…"

"Why are you apologizing, man?" Junpei laughed through his tears, "You're the one who's been through hell."

"Come to think of it… how did you even get out?" Yukari asked, "I mean… what does it even mean? You're supposed to be… back there…"

…

Wait. What the hell-?

"'Get out'-? H-How did you know-?" I asked.

"Dude, we tried to get you out of those chains ages ago," Junpei said, "I mean, you hadn't even been dead for a month. We had to leave you there or else we'd be right back at square one…"

"That doesn't explain-… What?" I asked again.

"Your soul was sealing Nyx away," Yukari said.

"I know that, but…" I grumbled with frustration.

"Why are we even questioning it?" Junpei asked, "He's back and everything's okay."

…good enough for me.

"I can't tell you how happy I am that you're back, Tetsuya… We tried everything… You don't know what it did to us when you died…" Yukari said.

"Especially Aigis," Junpei said, "H-Hey, Yuka-tan, we have to tell her that he's here!"

"Aigis is still around, huh?" I asked, "I kinda wondered where she would go."

"Yeah, she's been staying with Yuka-tan, but they're visiting my place for the week. I think you should come back with us and see her. I know she'll be really happy to see you," Junpei said with a smile, his eyes still a little red.

Aigis was here, but she didn't come with them…? It seemed a little strange that they would leave her by herself, especially considering her circumstances. I definitely miss her they way I miss the others, and I want to see her as soon as I can. Especially since there was always a connection that I had with her since that last January, when my life seemed to be at its roughest point… though I don't even remember why…

"Tetsuya…?" Yukari asked, "Is everything okay…?"

…no matter… I'm sure I'll figure it out.

"Y-Yeah. Yeah. Okay," I said, "Let's go see her."

They smiled at me happily and allowed me to walk alongside them, Yukari having had yet to release me. Though I felt this seemed clingy, I didn't try to pull away or tell her to stop. Besides, I kinda like the feeling of being held again. There's something comforting about the warmth of another's embrace… Junpei walked a lot closer to me than I was used to, but I was far from feeling uncomfortable.

"Hey… um… I'm sorry we're dragging you around already," he said, "I promise we'll explain everything to you and hear you out once we get back to my place. Aigis… just really needs to see you as soon as possible."

"Is she okay?" I asked, worried about her.

"Well… mostly. She still misses you dearly," Yukari told me, "All of us did, but… I think Aigis had a special bond with you that we didn't. You helped her see a lot of things, Tetsuya. And while she understood what you did and why you did it, she still hasn't really been able to stop thinking about you. She's not the only one."

I lowered my stare to my feet as they moved in a contrary motion to Yukari's and in unison with Junpei's. She has a point. I had a lot of friends. When I died, I left them all behind. How did they all react to it…? Though I feel selfish thinking about whether or not they were brokenhearted by my death, I couldn't help but wonder…

"Do you still talk to the others?" I asked, "Are they okay?"

Junpei nodded.

"Yeah, they're doing alright," he said casually.

Yukari looked at him suddenly.

"You haven't even talked to half of them in years!" she snapped, "You can't say that!"

But then she looked at me reassuringly, saying,

"Unlike Junpei, I've actually kept in contact with them. They're all okay."

As she dug into her pocket, she missed the glare that Junpei shot her.

"They still think about you," she said, pulling out her cell phone and flipping it open to a text message, "This is a text that Mitsuru-senpai sent me this morning."

I peered into the tiny screen, reading the short message.

_You remember what today is, right__? Can you give him my blessing when you visit?_

Today?

"What's today…?" I asked.

"The day we found you… …y'know…" Junpei murmured quietly.

"Oh," I said, quickly catching on, "I see… that must've been hard…"

"It really was…" Yukari said, "I mean… I'm glad _he_ wasn't there to see you, but it wasn't easier on the rest of us at all. Nothing was the same without you. I had to leave for cram school, and I never wanted to come back to the dorm because it made me think about that morning that I found you…"

"Yeah, that morning was hard for everyone. I'd never seen Akihiko-senpai cry before," Junpei muttered.

Akihiko cried? He cared enough about me to cry…?

"A lot of people from school came to the funeral," Yukari said, "Kenji Tomochika, Kazushi Miyamoto, and even that senior boy you used to hang out with, even though I thought he'd left…"

I was waiting for a particular name, but I wasn't hearing what I wanted to hear. I don't even know which name I was waiting for… it wasn't the senior boy… so who was it?

Junpei rubbed by his eye.

"H-Hey, let's talk about something else, alright?" he asked, "The last thing Tetsuya probably wants to talk about is dying."

"Yeah, let's… talk about a cheerier subject," I agreed, worried that Junpei might cry again.

We passed by a building, and my heart thumped a little as I recognized it.

"Hey, isn't that the dorm?" I asked.

Junpei and Yukari looked up at it, smiling a little.

"Yep," Yukari said, "Hard to believe it's standing there as a normal building now, huh? Ken-kun's staying there now."

I looked at her abruptly.

"Ken?" I asked, "Isn't he a little young?"

"No, he's okay. He skipped a couple grades. Besides, he's fifteen, dude," Junpei said, as if I were stupid.

"He's still catching up, Junpei," Yukari reminded him.

…he's fifteen? …well… I guess he was eleven when I died. It's been four years… Still, hard to imagine Ken any older than before.

"O-Oh. I see… Is… everyone else still around?" I asked.

"Not really," Yukari said, "We still see Fuuka and Akihiko every once in awhile, but they're usually busy with something else. Right now, they're both on vacation. And Mitsuru's been studying abroad in France. Oh, and Koro-chan's living with Ken now. Junpei, Aigis, and I still see each other regularly."

Hm… I guess I thought everyone would stay around forever. How stupid of me. Of course they would be busier now. Still, the connection we had back then seemed unbreakable. I can't believe they barely see each other anymore. Even with college, work, or whatever they were doing…

"Tetsuya? The apartment's over here, dude," Junpei called.

I stopped and looked side to side, realizing that Yukari and Junpei had stopped several paces behind me. …jeez, I'm spacing out badly today…

"Where are you going? You only know us! What's your plan?" Junpei hollered jokingly.

"Oh, stop," scolded Yukari as she gave Junpei a smack in the arm, "He just came back. He's still taking everything in…"

"Jeez, Yuka-tan, can't you take a joke…?"

Embarrassed, I shuffled back to my friends with my eyes on my feet. We started up the stairs to the second floor, passing about three doors before stopping in front of one. Junpei pulled out his keys and began fighting with the lock.

"Damn thing never wants to open…" he grumbled, murmuring other profanities to follow.

"I wonder what Aigis will do when she sees you're alive," Yukari said to me with a smile, "She's always thinking about you, Tetsuya. Imagine how she'll feel looking upon you again…"

The way she said it made my heart beat a little faster in anticipation. Now I feel more excited to see her than before. Such a precious friend. I want to see them all again. Especially her. But… I still feel as though-

"Got it!" Junpei exclaimed triumphantly as he swung the door open, "We're home!"

Junpei stepped in first, Yukari pushing me along as I hesitated a little. The apartment is sort of small for more than two people… The scent is peculiar; it smells like it once smelled like fast food, but someone tried to mask the odor with incense… now it just smells like pizza, church, and smoke. Junpei stuck his head around the corner, calling to someone in the other room.

"Sweetie, we brought a friend home," he said.

"Oh? Shall I put on some tea?" responded a young woman's voice.

Junpei looked back at Yukari and me.

"Is that cool with you guys?" he asked.

"Um… s-sure?" I stuttered.

"Yes, please," Yukari responded more politely.

As Junpei consented to the woman in the other room, Yukari led me through the hallway quickly. Wait, wait, wait-! …crap. I'm really curious. I want to know who Junpei settled down with. She's evidently really special to him, so I want to meet her… Although, I guess we're meeting with Aigis now, so I can think about that later.

Yukari stopped me in the center of what appears to be the den.

"Wait here," she said, "I'll bring her in."

Before I could even nod, she was already darting into another room. Junpei stopped next to me, scanning my clothes with confusion.

"What's up with those threads, man?" he asked, "Did you shrink while you were floating around in outer space or something?"

"Har har," I laughed sarcastically, "I'm supposed to catch up to my true height in a short amount of time. You can laugh after the growing pains."

"Still doesn't really explain the fashion statement…" Junpei murmured, "What exactly is your obsession with blue?"

"Yukari, I can't see where I'm going…"

I looked back over quickly as I recognized the artificial voice. Though it sounded more human now, it still had that hint of android to it…

"You can trust me, Aigis. Just keep walking."

Yukari emerged from the room, her hands covering the eyes of a girl who was closer to my height than hers. That's right… she won't have changed in appearance at all. She's exactly how I remember her… well… minus the camisole and skirt. Other than that… she's the one person who still looks the way she did before… Still very young and very pretty…

Yukari stopped her a few feet away from me.

"Okay, Aigis… are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes, Yukari, please just let me see!" Aigis whined, evidently disturbed by the lack of one of her senses.

The moment Yukari took her hands away, I felt my heart skip a little, just in the excitement of it all. Aigis looked straight ahead at me, her eyes immediately wide and her hands by her face. For some reason… her hair and eyes are a source of comfort to me… Maybe… that was why it was so peaceful when I closed my eyes for the last time…

I smiled at her.

"Hey, Aigis," I said quietly.

She jumped as I spoke, seeming unsure of what was going on. She looked at Yukari and Junpei quickly.

"Wh-Who is this?" she cried, "Somebody tell me what this is all about!"

"You know who this is," Junpei said, "We know you do."

Aigis shook her head, placing her hands over her headphones.

"Y-You built a machine of him? Th-This isn't exactly…!" she stammered.

"I know it's hard for you to understand… but this is him…" Yukari explained calmly.

"No…! I… I saw him! You saw him! He's… bound against the door!" she cried, tears falling quickly down her cheeks.

"No, he's not. For whatever reason, he's come back," Yukari said, a little stern this time, "Aigis, come on. You've got to believe me… Don't do this to him. He wanted to see you."

My memories began to stir a little. Back to that last moment… She was crying then… She was the only one there when I closed my eyes… the only one… For some reason… those faint memories… now feel like yesterday's…

"That morning on the rooftop… I was reading something… a letter… and you told me… life didn't have a single meaning. That all you truly needed was someone to take care of… and you promised to take care of me…" I said.

The other three looked back at me, and Aigis finally lowered her hands.

"Tetsuya…?" she croaked.

I smiled once more, and she calmed down dramatically as she finally seemed to realize that I was standing before her in flesh and blood.

She started to cry even harder, going to me quickly as she threw her arms around me tightly and cried into my shoulder.

"It really is you… but… you're so different… and yet the same… I… I don't understand…" she whimpered.

I held onto her closely.

"Aigis, I missed you…" I told her.

She buried her face against my neck and tightened her hold on me.

"You… don't even know…" she murmured.

There was nothing warm about the embrace, since she doesn't give off body heat, but… the feeling of it makes my heart feel warmer. Being with her again makes me realize how long it's been since my head rested in her lap.

Junpei shuffled over to Yukari, and I overheard their quiet exchange.

"I don't get what's so hard to believe, it's not like this is the first time this has happened," he said.

"Says the guy who thought he was a zombie," Yukari shot.

Aigis loosened her hold enough so that she could look me in the eyes for a moment while those very human tears still fell from hers so softly.

"It really is you, Tetsuya…" she whispered, "I can't believe it… You're… the same, but…"

"But?" I asked.

She seemed a little frustrated, trying to figure out the right words.

"You're… you're you, but… I don't sense… you," she said, "But… I know you. And I know you're you. You're someone else, but you're you… So… I don't understand why you're different… but you are."

My head was seriously killing me, trying to process the number of times she used the word "you" in that statement. So… I wasn't me, but I was me, so I was the same, only different? How in the hell did she come to that conclusion…?

"Aigis, he just got here," Junpei laughed, "Don't make his head explode."

"The tea's almost ready," called the young woman from the other room.

Junpei led us to sit around a small table, and we each claimed a pillow to sit on. Aigis still kept particularly close to me.

"How long… have you been back?" she asked me.

"Not long," I told her, "Junpei and Yukari came across me right after I awoke in the cemetery. It's a good thing, too. I wouldn't have known where to go, otherwise."

I remembered what they were saying back at the cemetery. The fact that they seemed to understand a little about where I'd been for the past four years wasn't anything I could ignore easily. Now would probably be a good time to bring that up again.

"Um… how… did you guys know about the door?" I asked, "I thought…"

The three fell quiet and looked around at each other once. Evidently, this wasn't something they liked talking about. Yukari was the brave one to tell me.

"A few weeks after you died, something strange happened at the dorm. Time… froze on the last day of March. We couldn't leave the dorm or anything," she said.

"Time… froze?" I asked, "How does that make sense…?"

"There was something called the Abyss of Time that was under the lounge," Junpei said, "That's where Metis was from."

I tried to recall the name, but I was pulling a blank. I didn't know Metis at all.

"Metis was… my sister," Aigis explained, seeming to having difficulty with the term, "Rather… she was a part of my feelings that separated from my being. The bad feelings I felt after you… after you died."

I think I'm following along okay, but it still doesn't make much sense.

"There were a lot of Shadows in the Abyss of Time. Including one that looked a lot like you. We followed it for a long time, trying to find you, but we eventually found where you really were," Yukari said lowly, "We… we wanted to set you free, but… There wasn't a real way to. You had been transmogrified into a seal that kept Erebus from reaching Nyx and bringing the Fall."

Erebus… I remember Elizabeth mentioned that name. Something about him awakening… Did he sleep…?

"Erebus is the embodiment of people's wishes for the end," Aigis told me, "The only things saving you from him were the feelings of those who didn't wish for the end. In the end… the only thing we could do for you was lightening your burden by living our lives to the fullest."

Burden… That seems like a word I heard a lot before… why would I have heard that so often…?

"Igor said that I'd reached the end of my journey, but the end of a journey didn't necessarily mean death. Maybe, he was trying to tell me that you would find a way back," Aigis said with a smile.

I smiled back at her.

"Heh… yeah. He always seems to know what he's talking-"

…wait… …WAIT… Did she just say-? …she knows…?

"I-Igor… You said…?"

Yukari and Junpei both looked over at me.

"Oh yeah! The Velvet Room!" Junpei exclaimed, "That's right! You were there before Aigis! That explains the threads! I knew they looked familiar."

"Yeah, Aigis was a guest there, and once we had defeated Erebus, we saw it!" Yukari said, "We figured out that's why you were always spacing out in the corner of Tartarus!"

…so they know about the Velvet Room. They met Igor and Elizabeth… After making fun of me for months on end, they finally saw them and believe me. Seriously?

"Oh! And it gets better! You remember your Persona Orpheus?" Yukari asked, "Aigis has him now! In fact, she has the same capabilities you did. After you died, she awakened to the Wild Card Ability. She ended up taking over the leadership position of S.E.E.S."

… … … …Orpheus… isn't mine anymore…? Somehow… I feel a little empty… Orpheus was my initial Persona… Not having him anymore feels like a serious loss…

"Oh, don't worry, Tetsuya. We don't even need our Personas anymore anyway," Yukari said, "The Shadows haven't popped up since you died. The world is back to normal, thanks to you."

A delicate, porcelain hand placed a cup of hot green tea in front of me on the table.

"You must be Junpei's friend," said the familiar voice.

Long red hair wrapped in white ribbons fell as she tilted her head. Red…? I looked over to the side to meet eyes with a familiar young woman. I hadn't seen her many times in my previous life, but…

…

WAIT.

I jolted back as I recognized her, unsure if I should feel surprised or horrified by the idea that she was standing before me.

"This is Tetsuya," Junpei told her as she placed cups of tea in front of everyone else, "He's been… away for a long time."

She smiled and bowed to me respectfully.

"Welcome back, Tetsuya-san," she said, "It's very nice to meet you."

…meet me…? She hated my guts. She… tried to kill me once, I think. …she gave up her life to save Junpei. She was supposedly dead. …I remember seeing her… She was dead… …I… should probably just respond respectfully…

"I-It's nice to meet you too, Chidori-san," I said quietly.

She tilted her head again, confused by the careless slip of my mind.

"Hm? How did you know my name?" she asked.

…she seriously doesn't remember.

"J-Junpei talks about you all the time," I stuttered, forcing a smile.

Chidori blushed and looked over at Junpei, who smiled back at her, playing along with my excuse too well.

"Oh, I see," she said, "Well… make yourself at home. I'll bring out some snacks."

She quickly shuffled back to the kitchen to retrieve food. The moment her hair fell behind the doorway, I looked back at Junpei with my jaw agape. He laughed hysterically at my reaction to the whole thing, but I hardly found it funny. She was dead. I know she was dead. What the hell was this?

"Yeah! It's her!" he grinned, "The same! What are you thinking right now?"

"…that everything I know is a lie," I responded flatly.

Junpei laughed again, forever amused by my confusion.

"Oh, come on, Junpei. Tell him what happened," Yukari muttered.

"Okay, okay," Junpei giggled, "Mitsuru had Chidori's body taken to the hospital, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, she had used some of her life force to revive some flowers by her bedside when she was still under our care. Her doctor placed them on her and they transferred that life back to her. She transmogrified into a coffin that night, and the doctors told Mitsuru about it. She just didn't tell any of us because she didn't want to get our hopes up. But when Chidori regained consciousness, Mitsuru told me."

He wasn't laughing like before, but the way he smiled radiated genuine happiness.

"Chidori's a normal girl now. It was like she never took the pills. She's not dying anymore. She had lost most of her memories… she doesn't remember ever having a Persona or being part of Strega… When she saw us, she didn't remember any of us. Not even me. But… in a way, she did kind of remember me. She dreamed about me and she remembered what kind of guy I was. We got to meet and fall in love all over again. It was kinda like getting a second chance…"

I couldn't help but smile at him as he spoke. It's rare to hear Junpei so genuinely happy and passionate about something. Though it was a major shock, I was relieved that Chidori was okay. I couldn't see Junpei with another girl, and now that she was back, he could live on happily. To have a second chance at love… … … …huh… I wonder… …did I… love…?

"Tetsuya?"

I looked up, suddenly realizing that I had been called more than once. Junpei chuckled as he realized that I had been spacing out.

"I was just saying that you could stay here until you got back on your feet," he said, Yuka-tan and Ai-chan have the guest room right now, so you'll have to stay on the pull-out sofa until they go back, but it's free for you."

He was offering me a place to stay? But… his living quarters are already so small; it's barely large enough for him and Chidori. Adding me in with Yukari and Aigis was crowding the space a lot already. It doesn't sound to me like he's thinking that through too well.

"Y-You mean… it's okay if I stay here?" I asked, "Are you sure that's okay…?"

"Well, of course," Yukari said with a smile, "Tetsuya, no matter how long you've been gone, we'll always love you as our best friend. I mean… we definitely didn't expect to find you alive when we came to visit your grave or anything, but as long as you're around, we won't let you go homeless. I mean, even if you can't stay here, Aigis and I have room back at our apartment. Besides, you do pretty well on your own. I don't doubt that you'll be able to go out there soon enough anyway."

"If you need anything to get you started, we'll be glad to help you in any way we can," Aigis said.

I guess Elizabeth was right when she said the Earth would give back to me, but… still. I never expected any of this from my friends, yet they're all so willing to provide me with any help I need when they have so little to begin with. I couldn't really ask for more than that. I have some really incredible friends…

"Th-Thank you. All of you…" I stammered, still touched at their willingness to take care of me, "But..."

"Pfft. When were you so modest?" Junpei laughed, "Seriously, we're not going to let you go out on the streets with nothing in hand. Ooh-! I just remembered! Hold on a second!"

He hopped up quickly, hurrying to a different room. Yukari laughed a little.

"He's excited that your back. Can you tell?" she asked.

I chuckled, amused by the energy he had that I longed for.

"He's like a kid on Christmas morning. In a way, he's changed so much, yet not at all," I said.

"He lost a lot back then, especially after you died," Aigis said, "He had lost the girl he loved and his two best friends. Now he has one of his friends and his girl back. I just hope he doesn't expect the other friend to come back any time soon. I think that's asking for too many miracles…"

Two friends… Which other friend of ours died? I tried remembering back to that last year, all the feelings I felt and all the trauma that might give me a hint. A blood-stained figure flashed into my mind briefly, causing my heart to lurch as I recognized his face.

"You mean… um… Shinjiro, right?" I asked.

Aigis shook her head, sadly.

"No. I don't think… any of us were really close enough to Shinjiro-san to consider him a best friend. Other than Akihiko-senpai, Shinjiro-san didn't get close to any of us."

That wasn't entirely true. I seem to remember feeling a particular bond with him—particularly in those last days. He told me about his secret hobby of cooking… But… why would he tell me that…? Why were we the way that we were? I don't remember having much in common with him… Maybe I had a secret hobby as well? I remember hiding for a long time… but… it didn't seem like just a hobby to me.

"I was referring to Ryoji."

Inexplicable feels exploded in my chest upon hearing that name. Ryoji Mochizuki… The feelings I felt towards him were… complicated… conflicting, even… That was a person that I loved… but I hated him… He was my friend, but he was my enemy. Ryoji… was part of me. He lived inside my soul for ten years to awaken once we arrived in Tatsumi Port Island again. He was very kind to me. He was everyone's best friend… But… he was Death… yet… he didn't want to hurt us. I saw him… I saw him when I defeated Nyx. My feelings were strange… did I love him? …what was the animosity I felt towards him? How could I hate him?

"You remember Ryoji, don't you?" Aigis asked.

I was being quiet again… …I used to be quiet for a long time, didn't I…? What made that change?

"Yeah, I remember," I said, "But… It feels like there's a huge hole in my memory… nothing from last year really… makes sense. I remember having Personae, and I remember fighting alongside you all with the Shadows… I remember losing Shinjiro, and I remember losing Mitsuru's father… I remember… Ikutsuki, and I remember Ryoji. I remember… going to Kyoto, but I don't really remember… the trip itself."

Yukari smiled sympathetically.

"It'll come back eventually, don't you think?" she asked, "If you remembered everything all at once, it would be too overwhelming. Just let it come back bit by bit. You'll get there, I promise."

I suppose she's right, but I feel like this isn't something I should be forgetting. It's far too important… I can see forgetting what the Kyoto trip was like, but… what did I even do with my life for that year? There's a big blur between fall and January… what happened…?

Yukari and Aigis both lifted their cups and sipped the green tea quietly. Right… I forgot about that. Slowly, I picked up the brimming cup and brought it to my lips, taking in the warm liquid. …it's the first thing I've drank in four years. I never particularly had a love for green tea, but it's never tasted so wonderful. I suppose I'm becoming slowly aware of being without food or drink for a long time.

Chidori returned from the kitchen with a small tray of sweets, placing them on the center of the table for us.

"Thank you, Chidori," Yukari told her with a smile.

Aigis and I thanked her as well, and each of us took a cookie from the tray. The sweetness was slightly overwhelming, likely due to my absence from food and the bitterness of the tea that still coated my mouth, but it gradually became a taste that I found myself delighted with. Something about eating sweets stirred a homey feeling in my chest. Did I do this often?

"Is everything okay?" Chidori asked us self-consciously, sitting beside Junpei's empty spot at the table with a cup of tea for herself.

"Everything is delicious," Yukari told her happily.

"Thank you for the food," Aigis said.

"Yes, it's wonderful," I told her with a smile, "Thank you."

Chidori blushed, evidently flattered but too modest to say so.

Junpei rushed back into the room carrying a few items in his arms, stumbling on the carpet a little in his excitement.

"Careful, darling," Chidori said patiently.

"I'm okay!" Junpei grinned, "Just got a few things here for Tetsuya."

He plopped down next to me, handing me a worn, bulky wallet.

"What's this?" I asked him.

He looked at me in disbelief.

"You don't recognize it?" he asked, "It's your wallet. There were a few things that they didn't really want to bury you with, so they gave them to those of us who wanted something to remember you by."

My… wallet…? I looked back at it again, realizing suddenly that it looked familiar.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "Th-Thank you!"

I accepted it, opening to take a look through it. Maybe there was something to help me remember what happened… like a picture. Junpei misunderstood immediately.

"We didn't spend any of your money. That's all your Tartarus money still in there. Not a single yen missing."

Oh… so I still had leftover money. I flipped through the bills quickly, concerned with how thick the wallet was and how large the bills were. … … …um… … …I didn't count all of it, but I remember having over a million. … …yay, more money… ugh… at least I had somewhere to store the contents of my sagging pockets.

"Oh, if we're giving stuff back, hang on a second," Yukari said quickly, rushing back to the guest room.

Aigis seemed troubled by the situation. I continued looking through the wallet, finding very little other than money. At last, my fingers came across a different paper and, anxiously, I withdrew it.

It wasn't exactly what I was looking for but… I'm comforted to know this made it at least. I recognize this picture, and I recognize the three figures standing in the center, six eyes staring back at me with untainted innocence and happiness. I hadn't looked at it in so long. Looking at it now makes me realize why…

Shaking my head, I tried to shake away those dark images. So much destruction… so much blood. Junpei peeked at it curiously.

"Oh, yeah," he said, "I wondered about that photo. It looked pretty old. That's you when you were younger, right? …are those your parents?" he asked.

I nodded, smiling a little at those faces that renewed themselves in my memory. In a way, I looked a lot like my mother when I was younger, but I now strongly resembled my father. Genetics are incredible…

"You look just I remember you," Aigis said, smiling sadly.

That's right… she was there when it all happened. This picture must have been taken shortly before the accident…

Yukari hurried back, handing a device to me that I recognized instantly. The head phones dangled with the lanyard and mp3 player, but they all appeared to be in the same condition that I'd left them in.

"I hope you don't mind, but I listened to some of your music," Yukari said, "I didn't take anything off it, but I did add one song. I remembered that you said you liked Risette, and when she returned from a hiatus two years ago, she came out with a new single that sounded like something you might like. Other than that, nothing is different."

She even remembered my favorite artist? Incredible.

"Thanks, Yukari. You're the best," I smiled, accepting it happily.

Aigis sighed a little, but Junpei was already handing me something else.

"I don't know if you really want this back, but we kept your cell phone," Junpei said.

Before I could question why I wouldn't want it back, he went on.

"The charge on it died, and we couldn't find the charger."

I don't care as much about the fact that the cell phone itself is dead, but I'm a little disappointed that I've lost all my contacts and pictures. Especially the pictures…

Aigis held something in front of my face quickly.

"I've been holding onto this," she blurted, as if confessing a felony, "You should have it back."

My eyes focused on it, and I recognized it as my old watch. I looked back at her questionably. She didn't seem to want to give it back that much. I hardly blame her, since it was all she had of me for the past four years. If she missed me as badly as Junpei and Yukari said, she probably treasured it more than I did. After all, it didn't really mean anything to me.

"That's okay, you can keep it," I told her.

She looked at me quickly, overjoyed at my words.

"Can I really?" she asked with a grin, "Thank you, Tetsuya!"

She placed that watch back on her wrist, elated that she was permitted to keep it.

"That was a really nice thing to do for her," Yukari smiled, "She's really treasured that watch for a long time."

"It was very sweet," Chidori commented, still shy.

As the attention was focused on Aigis, I lifted my cup again, sipping at the beverage that was already beginning to lose warmth. I need to stop getting distracted from this, or else it won't be hot anymore… As I tipped the cup back further, a tiny sparkle on my finger caught my eye. Whoa. Has that always been there?

I placed the cup back on the table, pulling my left hand closer to my face to take a good look at the little blue-grey beauty held by a ring of untarnished silver. Funny… I don't remember taking this off… or putting it on… I never really felt it, like the ring was part of me… Something-

…

Oh my God.

No.

How could I-?

After all we-?

Why do I remember only now…? Why wasn't he my first thought…?

His blonde hair; his baby blue eyes. His soft, fair skin and his gentle touch. An angelic voice to match his pure heart that shone through his sweet smile. The feel of his kiss and the warmth of his embrace could never leave my memories. So why didn't I realize sooner…?

"We held onto this too," Junpei said, placing a journal in my hands, "It's kinda funny. We had that for four years, and nobody had the courage to open it. It's like… all of your secrets and personal thoughts, so we didn't want to disrespect your privacy… Whatever's in there, it's still secret."

I turned the journal over in my hands, feeling the familiar blue fabric. It was such a dear treasure to me, especially when I was alone. I labored endlessly over it before I faced Nyx. Flipping through the pages, I scanned everything I had written. Six-hundred twenty-seven pages, all about him…

"T-Tetsuya? What's the matter…?" Yukari asked, checking on me with a concerned expression.

"Bebe…" I said quietly, the name ringing through my every thought, "Where's Bebe…?"

As the three jolted, Chidori looked up at us.

"Hm?" she asked curiously, "Who is that?"

Junpei looked at her briefly and then at me.

"Dude… I'm… surprised you just now brought him up…" he said.

"I know, I am too… Where is he…?" I asked, "I mean, did he ever come back to Japan? Is he still in France? Did you guys even keep in touch with him?"

For a while, each of them exchanged lengthy glances, troubled and speechless.

Yukari, more than any of them, seemed the most distressed by the mention of his name, yet the other two understood why it was that she felt bothered. With a frown, I spoke to them more sternly.

"Guys. Where… is Bebe?" I asked.

At last, Aigis was able to non-verbally persuade Yukari into speaking to me.

"Tetsuya… Nobody… nobody knows what happened to him," she said hesitantly.

My heart stopped for a moment and my stomach lurched.

"What do you mean no one knows what happened to him?" I asked, my voice loud as panic began to take over.

"We kept in touch for a long time, but… about a year ago, he just stopped writing back. We've tried writing him letters, we've tried texting him… he won't answer. Nobody's really sure what happened."

My heart ached a little more as it sank lower and lower at each of her words. He stopped communicating with them so suddenly…? What could that possibly mean? …is he okay…?

"Does… he know? About what happened to me?" I asked.

Yukari nodded hesitantly.

"I… I wrote him a letter the morning after… he didn't take it too well. In fact, ever since he found out, he really changed. When he wrote back, the tone of the letters was always kinda sad, and you could hear it in his voice over the phone."

Aw, Bebe…

"What… what did he say…?" I asked, my voice cracking a little, "What did he talk to you about…?"

"Mostly about you," she said, "It's like he couldn't think of anything else. We talked about things going on at that moment, like where he was planning to go to college and his uncle, but the subject usually redirected to you… I could tell that he was still trying to deal with everything. Sometimes I felt like talking to him only reminded him of you. I would like to believe that's why he stopped talking to us, but… I always worry…"

"Worry? Worry about what?" I asked anxiously.

She fidgeted uncomfortably, as if she didn't want to speak or even think of what was already flowing through her thoughts, but Aigis seemed braver to put it out there.

"She's afraid he committed suicide," she said lowly.

And I wish that she hadn't.

"Aigis!" Yukari and Junpei scolded.

No… no, Bebe wouldn't commit suicide. After everything I did to protect his life and after I'd done all I could to cram into his head that his life was worth something, he would know that I wouldn't want him to do that. It would be selfish—stupid even! …oh, God… He always said he was stupid… he always said he was worthless… I don't know why he ever thought these things, but… no… no, no… please don't let it be true… don't let it be true…

"Tetsuya! Dammit, Aigis-! Tetsuya, please calm down," Yukari coaxed, going to me and placing her hands on my arms, trying to pull them down as I'd apparently begun to hold my head in my state of panic.

"There's always a chance that could have happened…" Aigis murmured.

"Okay, there's a fine line between honesty and being too frank," Yukari grumbled, "Which side are you on?"

"I'm being realistic," Aigis said, "I'm not going to pretend that the possibility isn't there. If it's true, trying to sugar-coat the issue will only hurt Tetsuya worse."

"Come on, you girls are being so dramatic," Junpei sighed, "Guys don't always want to talk these things out. Maybe he just wanted time to deal with everything since talking was making it worse."

He looked at me.

"Tetsuya, think about it. You knew Bebe better than any of us. What do you think? Do you really believe that he would just off himself? I mean, we all made the best of our lives for your sake. Don't you think Bebe would understand that and respect it better than any of us? I mean, he can't wish death upon himself if that means it'll only hurt you more."

What in the hell-? Junpei was suddenly the voice of reason? When did that happen…?

I lowered my hands, staring at my palms quietly. Junpei made a really good point. Though it was possible that Bebe could have decided that he didn't want to live without me anymore, he may have taken some time away from the others. Yukari said it herself: when she talked to Bebe, the conversation led to me, and it always made him hurt worse. Maybe he realized the only way to stop thinking about me was to cut connections… but… if he cut connections… then…

…

"How is he supposed to know I'm alive…?"

The others seemed to relax a little, realizing that I had calmed myself a great deal trying to rationalize the situation.

"Well… we could always try to contact him again," Yukari said with a gentle smile.

It was a reasonable suggestion, but he wasn't responding. Maybe… he wasn't getting the messages. In that case, trying to contact him would be futile. There's only one other thing I can think of… but… would that really work?

"Or… we could go find him," I said.

Yukari and Aigis jumped a little at my response, and Junpei grinned.

"Alriiiiiiight!" he approved, "That's more like you, Tetz."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Yukari exclaimed, "Let's just think that over for a minute! Tetsuya, you just came back into the world. You're already talking about travelling over almost half the Earth to look for a person you don't even have an address for?"

"Or a dead person," Aigis added morbidly, though backing away a bit when Yukari and Junpei gave her a dirty look.

I shook my head. I knew how stupid it sounded. I knew that I had no idea where he was located or that he might even be buried six feet under by now. But I have to know. I can't sit still and wonder forever if he's okay.

"When Bebe left, I made a promise," I said, "I told him that I'd defeat Nyx and come out alive. I promised I'd see him again, even if it meant going to France and finding him. I don't care if it takes ten years—hell, I don't care if it takes the rest of my life. I made a promise to meet him again, and I'm not going to break it."

Aigis gave Yukari a look, as if to discourage her from siding with me. To my relief, Yukari sighed and smiled at me.

"Tetsuya, you're crazy," she chuckled, "But I guess love makes people do some crazy things. All right. I'm in."

Aigis sighed and shook her head irritably, but I ignored her.

"Do you have any of Bebe's old letters?" I asked, "Is there an address?"

She sighed.

"Well… not on me. If you give me a little time, I can take a light rail back to the apartment tomorrow morning," she told me, "I'll go pick them up anyway, just to make sure, but… the name Nanparaux sounds really familiar."

"Nanparaux?"

"I know. I hadn't really heard of it before Bebe. It's a tiny island just south of France. It's still French territory, but it's still pretty remote…"

Her head snapped up instantly, as if she had suddenly realized something.

"Hey! Mitsuru-senpai's living in France! I wonder if she'd know anything about Nanparaux that would help us!" she exclaimed.

"Dude, does this mean we're going on a road trip in France?" Junpei asked with a grin, "This is gonna be sweet!"

"No!" Aigis barked, frustrated with being unheard, "This is not a good idea! Why am I the only one who sees that?"

"Ai-chan, come on…" Junpei groaned.

"No!" she retorted, "You come on! Think about it! Think about how hard it was for us when Tetsuya died! Since he was closer to Tetsuya than any of us, imagine how much harder it was for him! Now imagine flying overseas only to find a tombstone of our other friend! No words of goodbye, nothing! Think about how that will feel! Just think about it!"

It was hard not to, but I knew it was better if I didn't think too heavily on her words. It wouldn't do me any good to turn a blind eye to the situation. The only way we would know for sure is to go find him. We just have to believe he's still alive… Suicide didn't seem like something Bebe could go through with.

I let out a long sigh, gazing Aigis straight in the eyes.

"Aigis… When I made that promise, I broke it," I told her, "Now I have my own second chance to make things right. This is what I'm choosing to do with the life I've been given. He did a lot for me back then… it's my turn to keep my promise. I won't give up on him because I love him… When you find love, you'll understand that… sometimes you have to do whatever it takes in order to be with that person and to see them smile again. I'm not doing it just for me. I'm doing it for Bebe too… please… please understand…"

Her brow furrowed, her eyes narrowing angrily as I spoke. I felt bad knowing that she still might not understand everything about human emotion, but I needed her to see why I couldn't live my life without knowing whether or not he was okay. Looking away from me, she let out an irritable sigh.

"Okay… but… I want to go with you. I don't want to leave your side again. And… I want you to understand that I'm just doing this for you. No one else," she said.

They're all on my side… Even with everything going on—even though they would have to traverse across the world—my friends will follow me and stay by my side. I couldn't ask for a better friendship than that… All that's really left is finding my reason for living. At least this time… I know who it's for.


	3. A Step Closer

**Rendezvous**

**Chapter Two – A Step Closer**

Caught between dream and the conscious, my mind reeled endlessly. The gentle hum had established normality within my mentality, and it coaxed my eye lids to rest lightly. Though I could tear myself from sleep at any moment, I choose to rest as much as possible in order to prepare for the long days ahead of me, and also to compensate for what I lacked in energy. Even as I attempt my much-needed period of hibernation, my mind keeps on the conversation exchanged among my friends.

"They said only about ten minutes… should we wake him up?" Yukari asked.

"Ah, just wait. Poor guy hasn't gotten a good night's rest since he came back last week," Junpei said.

"It's a good thing Mitsuru was able to help us out. Nobody else could manage to collect everything he did in that short of time. And by then, we might have waited too long."

"Seriously… he's lucky he didn't have to go through a serious amount if crap. I mean, on record he was claimed dead. If Mitsuru-senpai hadn't any say in it, we'd probably not be going for another year at least."

"What are we going to do if we find an unfavorable outcome?" Aigis asked, "What if we've come all this way with hope in our hearts just to find out that Bebe's de-"

"Ssh! Quiet down, Aigis!" Yukari whispered harshly, "You can't just say something like that so carelessly. The thought alone would tear him apart…"

"But what if it's true? Don't you think that might hurt him more?"

"If it's true, then at least we'll know," Junpei muttered, "If it were me, I'd prefer to know than spend the rest of my life wondering…"

The group was quiet for a long time, which bothered me to the point of considering opening my eyes. Before I could act, the silence ended with another topic centered on me.

"He's… grown a lot. Like, physically," Yukari observed, "Do you think that's what he meant by he had 'catching up' to do?"

"Well, yeah," Junpei said, "He looked the same as he did four years ago just last week. It's kind of weird to wake up to see a huge change every morning. He shot up three whole inches the first night… He definitely doesn't look seventeen anymore."

"He looks so much more mature… I feel like I'm being left behind," Aigis murmured, "I can't grow or change they way you all do…"

"Even if you don't look different, you're always changing, Aigis," Yukari assured her, "He's just changing at a faster rate in order to match the time. Hopefully, he'll get there soon. It's hard just knowing that he goes through every night in pain…"

So they were all aware of the excruciating pain I felt night after night. Then again, I suppose I'm not moaning quietly; the pain is far worse than any I've felt before—besides two other instances that I can think of. Having my back sliced open was probably a little worse than this, but nothing even compares to the heartache I felt when Bebe left. Not even just when he left for Japan, but when he was angry with me for being unable to communicate a simple romantic phrase; the fury and frustration he threw at me for a dreadful slip of mind was enough to send me into endless despair for days.

That was our only real fight… It never really felt like there was anything to fight about afterwards, especially since we were able to agree on things much more easily. I still couldn't believe we didn't have to fight about sending him back to France; he had told me that he would fight me if I tried. At that point, he couldn't bear to see me get hurt anymore… He thought that by leaving, he could allow me to focus on keeping myself safe so that I would live… And I didn't.

I wonder what went through his head when he got Yukari's letter. I wonder what he felt when he saw those words on the paper, only in writing but with such devastating power. When he woke up on the first of February, his heart filled with such hope. That letter he wrote to me was so heartfelt; I was alive then, but I never had the chance to write back to him… I wonder if it would have been worse if I had… He left to protect me... Knowing Bebe, he probably blames himself for what happened to me. I wish I could have told him that it wasn't his fault. I wish I could have known that it was what I was meant for… I hope desperately that he didn't pull something stupid in order to place himself with me. Still… why wait three years? That's the only thing I can hang onto; I can keep faith as long as I have that thought in mind.

A sudden jolt shook the entire cabin, though I still don't find the will to open my eyes. Sleep weighed my eyelids down so heavily… I just want another half hour at the least…

"Tetsuya…? Tetsuya?"

No. I'm too tired. Leave me alone.

"…Tetsuya…? TETSUYA?"

A hand gripped my arm and gave me a sharp jerk. My eyes flashed open and I yelped at the sudden movement, gazing upon my horror-stricken friends who sighed in relief as I responded. Yukari released my arm and sank down in her seat with her hands over her face.

"Oh my God, thank you…" she croaked, "I can't go through that again…"

"Are you all right, Tetsuya?" Aigis asked.

"Yeah, Yuka-tan called your name four times…" Junpei murmured.

My heart continued to race and trip inside my chest, even as I settled down from my start. At this point, even if I wanted to, I couldn't return to my half-rest. Still, I guess I sort of feel bad for giving all of them a scare.

"Y-Yeah. Yeah. I'm okay…" I sighed, my speech very faintly slurred with weary confusion.

"Sorry I had to grab you…" Yukari said sheepishly, "I just wanted to let you know that we landed."

… … …oh. Right. They said we were landing earlier. I completely forgot. I guess that explains the shaking…

"Dude, are you sure you're okay? You're acting like you did last time…" Junpei said solemnly.

"Last time what…?" I asked, still out of it.

It wasn't until he gave me a look that I realized what he meant.

"You have to remember that he's going through a lot of change really fast, Junpei," Yukari said, "It's why teenage boys sleep so much. That along with the growing pains and stress doesn't really help. I feel even worse because you know jetlag is going to play a major part now…"

Dammit, I didn't even think about that. I can't say this out loud out of courtesy for my friends, but I might just die if I don't get some sleep soon.

The light for seatbelts turned off, and Junpei and Yukari automatically began removing the restraints to stand and stretch.

"Ohh, thank God we're finally here…!" Junpei said, his voice slightly strained as he stretched out his stiff arms and legs.

"I can't believe you're actually excited about getting off the private jet you said you never wanted to leave," Yukari teased.

"H-hey, hey, hey. You're tired of sitting on your ass for eleven hours, too," he retorted.

Aigis removed her seatbelt and stood normally, looking down at me with a great deal of concern.

"Tetsuya… do you… _feel_ the way you did last time…?" she asked quietly.

She almost appeared afraid to hear my response. The poor girl really was worried that I was going to die again. If that were to happen, it really wouldn't be fair to any of us. Especially not to her. Especially not to Bebe. But… I wasn't really concerned about it. After all, my problem last time was that I didn't have a soul.

"No, this is different," I told her, "This time, I'm actually feeling something and I care about it. I'll be okay as soon as I can catch up on my sleep."

Her smile spread relief to the rest of her face, and she was able to turn away with me without hesitance. Yukari and Junpei began unloading our carry-ons from the compartment above us, lining up the bags in an organized groups based on who they belonged to. The pilot came back to check up on us and retrieve our other bags from the back of the jet.

While everyone else was busy, I took a peek out the window for the first time, surprised to meet daylight spilling across the concrete landing. It felt like it shouldn't be light out… Still, the sun was near the east, meaning I had a full day to begin my search. I wouldn't have much time to sleep while I was here; if I wanted to find Bebe as soon as I could, I would have to be on my feet from dawn until dusk. Or at least as long as I could search. The island looked so tiny on the map… how hard could it possibly be to find him?

"C'mon, Tetsuya," Junpei chirped, "Take in your last breath of Japanese air for awhile. I hear the air in France smells God-awful."

"Who told you that?" Yukari demanded.

"Kenji told me a long time ago-"

"Well, Kenji was a Duck Fry short of a Ducky Meal, Stupei. Don't make assumptions before you get there."

"Alright, alright. Yeesh."

I took one last glance out the window before standing on jelly legs and lifting my bags. I assume the eleven hours of remaining stationary had something to do with the stiffness in my legs, but the growing pains didn't help either. I can't wait for this to be over…

Shivering as the cold air enveloped me, I stepped down the small staircase and onto to the landing below, meeting with my other friends who were taking their final stretch break. I inhaled deeply, taking in the foreign air and comparing it to Japan's. …hm… actually… Junpei had it really wrong. The air smells so pure and clean here, like nothing I've ever breathed before. The sky seems bluer, but it might just be my imagination. Perhaps the island is small enough that the burning of fossil fuels isn't as necessary. It wasn't a tropical island but it seemed like paradise or a very good dream at least.

"Oh, yeah, really God-awful, Stupei," Yukari teased.

"Seriously? Can you please drop that nickname? It's not even funny anymore," Junpei muttered.

A small bus came to take us safely to the airport. The ride was smooth and very quiet, though it was short. Once we had entered the actual airport, we had to go through customs with other travelers, many of which were either American or Japanese. It was Junpei's grand idea to split up into separate lines, wanting to race and see whose was faster. I was surprised that Aigis and Yukari even went along with it. This isn't a field trip…

Of course, Junpei had picked the best line, flying through at a breakneck speed. Yukari's inched along just a bit slower and Aigis was already three people ahead of me. With my luck, I had picked the line with the incredibly and unnecessarily slow worker and the most obnoxious Americans.

"I ***** **** ** *** *** Eiffel Tower! We ****** go *** T-Shirts **** *** I Heart Paris ** ****!" said a heavyset middle-aged woman.

"Dude. We ****** go **** **** French girls ** ****. ******* chicks *** ****** so sexy," a younger male said.

Yeah, I don't really speak much English but… damn. I respect America and the Americans okay, but some Americans tourists can be dipshits beyond belief. It's Nanparaux, idiot, not Paris. There's no Eiffel Tower here. And I don't even want to know what we're doing to the poor French girls. I can't imagine any of them being attracted to someone that sounds like a creep. Please, God, tell me they're not all like this.

Yukari passed through already and Aigis followed a minute later. Yukari peered back at me, sympathetic.

"We'll wait on you, Tetsuya! I'm sorry you're stuck there!" she hollered.

Evidently, the language she spoke to me was fascinating enough to the Americans to have them staring back at my friends and, to my dismay, me.

"Oh! ****! *********! *** ******* Chinese people!"

OH, FOR GOD'S SAKE.

I was the last to get through customs at a whopping fifteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds (Junpei timed it to my dismay.) Luckily, I didn't have to punch an American on my way out, but I'd had my fill of ignorant vacationers for the day. Bebe stood out as a foreigner in Japan, but at least he didn't act like an obnoxious tourist.

"Duuuuude. You got all the fun people in your line," Junpei laughed.

"Don't start with me," I snapped, "Let's just find a place to sit and get everything sorted out."

I dragged my bags along with me until I found some empty seats by the luggage claim area. The others sat next to me, already weary and it was only eight o' clock. I opened up the smaller bag and shuffled through various belongings in search of the three papers Yukari had given me. Yukari, realizing what I was looking for, went into her own bag to search for the rest of Bebe's letters.

"Man, I'm hungry. You think we can go find a place that serves rice?" Junpei asked.

The rest of us gave him an incredulous look.

"It's eight in the morning," I said, frowning.

"Duh. Breakfast."

"This is France, moron, they don't serve rice for breakfast."

"Whaaaaaat? What the hell, man? How do you not have rice for breakfast?"

Speaking of obnoxious tourists, I think I'm looking at one. Jeez.

I finally found the papers I was looking for, pulling them out and looking over them. Only half of the letter Bebe wrote me… It was what they found on me when I was dead, but the other three pages were misplaced… Even though these were the pages that I favored, the other three might have been more helpful. But these ones… were the ones that came from his heart… The ones that when I read them, I could hear his voice. As I scanned it again, I knew the words before I read them:

_Forgive me, Tetsuya. Bebe was trying to keep zis letter light-hearted, but I just can't do eet. I miss you. I zink about you every minute I am awake, and I dream of you when I am asleep. Bebe want to be wiz you again. I know you're probably mad at me for breaking my promise. I will stop at nozing to come back. But I still want to come back on my own. Bebe will work 'ard to see Tetsuya again. I want to get back togezer soon._

_Every moment I spent wiz you was amazing. Bebe would give anyzing to do eet all again. I assume zat you defeated Nyx. I knew you could. I believed in you from ze very beginning. You're a strong and gentle person, Tetsuya. Bebe love zat and so much more about you. Maybe when we meet again, we can 'ave a normal life togezer. I would love to see your smile, feel your kiss, and 'ear your voice again._

_I guess what Bebe eez trying to say eez… I still keep my promise. Eet may not be as soon as I'd 'oped, but I will see you again. I' ope you aren't upset wiz me, but I understand if you are. But know zis, mon chéri – I will always love you. I promise we'll meet again, my angel._

_~Love, Bebe" _

…I promise, Bebe. We will meet again…

"Tetsuya?"

Yukari held out a letter to me.

"Here. This is the one we want," she said.

I scanned it briefly, recognizing it as the most helpful letter of the thick stack that Yukari had. While making travel arrangements, I had read through all of them carefully. She was right about him; he didn't sound the same in writing at all. Comparing my letter with all of Yukari's, the difference in tone was clear. In mine, he was filled with hope and determination; in hers, he seemed like a shattered shell, dead and empty.

The one I gazed upon was the letter that got us where we were. One of the last letters he sent, it held more clues about where to find him than the rest. I read through some of it again, reading the key passage:

_Uncle eez not particularly supportive of my interest in Rěve__futur Academy, and I don't know if eet's wise to tell 'im about ze scholarship. Personally, I feel zat zis eez an opportunity. Sewing eez my life, but eet's not ze activity eetself zat 'e disapproves of. Since Tetsuya died, 'e knows 'ow much eet reminds me of ze time Bebe spent wiz 'im. Yukari-sama, if zis was your situation, what would you do? Please 'elp me. I'm worried. _

I'd done a bit of research about the school online. I'm not surprised, but I am impressed and, needless to say, proud of him. He received a scholarship that paid for a full two year's tuition of the most prestigious fashion academy on the island—possibly in the entire country. An incredible achievement and nothing to sneeze at in the least. With that in mind, pinpointing his estimated location was fairly easy. The problem was that it wasn't anywhere near the address on the other envelopes. Despite that the island was small, his original location was still a ways from the academy. I know there are dormitories on campus, but that doesn't guarantee a thing.

Yukari has already stressed that she doesn't think he's at the previous address anymore, but trying to find him in a place that we're not even sure if he's at isn't really the greatest plan. I guess she and Aigis were right to have their doubts about this. Even so, we're here now. We've come this far, we'd might as well keep moving.

"I think our first objective is to find this academy," Yukari said, "That way we can make reservations at the nearest hotel so we can get there quickly and spend less money on cab fares."

"Sounds good to me. Do you think we can find it on our own, or should we ask directions?" I asked.

Yukari chuckled.

"You're a guy and you're asking if we should ask for directions?" she laughed, "Incredible. Anyway, you're probably right. We should find someone who can help us."

Two women passed us, speaking French. Possible locals? If they were from Nanparaux, they might be the best people to ask. I called out to them, catching their attention.

"Excuse me, could you please help us?" I asked.

They both smiled, getting closer to me.

"Oh, my," said the older of the two, "Aren't you adorable? You look like a doll."

Aigis, able to interpret any language as a robot, giggled at the remark. Yukari couldn't quite understand the phrases, and Junpei was totally lost.

"We need to find the Rěvefutur Academy," I said, "Do you know where it is?"

The younger woman smiled sadly.

"I'm afraid not. We're from Bordeaux, so we don't know the area. I'm so sorry," she apologized.

I smiled back at them.

"That's okay. Thanks anyway," I said, "Have a safe flight."

They bid their final farewells and resumed their original agenda. A man passed us, but when I tried to catch his attention, he ignored me.

"Hey, what the hell?" Junpei frowned, "What gives?"

"We're foreigners. They probably view us as nothing more than lost tourists," Yukari told him, "We should probably expect that sort of response that more often…"

"We stand out here…" Aigis murmured quietly, "No one here looks Japanese… I hope it's not like this everywhere…"

"It shouldn't be… Nanparaux does a lot of business with Japanese companies, so there are a lot of business conventions and trips here. Though… it does seem strange that we're the only ones here right now. It probably has to do with the fact that we came on a private jet."

I looked around at the faces of everyone. Several of us were already avoiding us, as if they knew we were going to ask for help. Is it really that hard to get directions? I kept looking around. A lot of brown hair and some blonde…

And then a flash of silver.

The color caught my eye, and I looked over at the individual immediately. At first, I expected to see an older man, only to realize that he was around my age. He was pretty tall and thin; quiet but powerful in appearance alone. He walked alongside another man with rusty hair that spiked out like feathery wings. Both of them wore jackets with a familiar Japanese insignia, one that I recognized as a member of authority. They spoke to each other inconspicuously, seeming frustrated. As they walked past us, I caught some of the conversation in a language that was easier on my ears.

"Dammit, none of this random interrogating is working. We're not going to find any leads this way, I already told you," the brown-haired officer grumbled.

"Just let me try a little longer," the silver-haired one responded gruffly, "Please. I don't ask for much. Just for a week. I promise if we don't find anyone by then, we can try whatever you have in mind. At this point, I don't care what we do. I just want her safe."

It might be easier to ask someone for directions in Japanese… Hopefully, they know the area well enough to direct us to the school. It's a long shot, but it can't hurt to ask.

I approached them hopefully, holding my breath for a positive answer. The other three followed behind me as they had in the past.

"Excuse me," I spoke up, getting their attention on the first try, "I was wondering if you could help us with directions."

"Hey, someone who speaks Japanese…" the brown-haired officer remarked, pleasantly surprised by the language.

"That depends," replied his partner, "Where are you all headed?"

"We're looking for theRěvefutur Academy of Design and Fashion," Yukari told them.

The brown-haired officer immediately appeared sort of confused, and even disturbed.

"But… two of you are guys," he said.

His partner gave him a look.

"Hey, come on," he scolded, and then looking back at us, "Actually, yes, we can help point you there. The Fashion Academy… that's on the northern part of the island, isn't it?"

"Yeah, we pass by it on the bus," his partner confirmed.

"I think Naoto checked it out back in January… should we ask?"

"It doesn't matter, does it? We know where it is."

The brown-haired officer looked at me, tilting his head.

"Hey, speaking of Naoto…" he murmured.

I'd long since grown impatient with the pointless conversation going on between the two officers. Seriously, if I'd known they were going to stray from the point, I would have just asked someone else.

"H-Hey, listen, I kind of need to get there as soon as I can," I spoke up, "Can I just get some directions?"

The rusty-hair officer seemed irked by my impatience, but his partner was more understanding.

He pulled a pad of paper from a pocket inside is jacket, fishing for a pen.

"I tell you what," he said, "I can't tell you how to get there, but I can give you the name of our bus company and a schedule for the morning pick-ups. The bus makes a stop at the Academy, so I would highly encourage that route. If you absolutely can't wait for the next stop, I would suggest taking the Metro to the stop nearest to the academy, which is Nancy Avenue. The Metro stops running at around midnight, so keep that in mind while you're staying here."

He wrote something down on the paper, tore it from the pad, and handed it to me.

"The bus stops picking up at eleven, but you should be able to get where you need to before then. Are you staying in a dorm or do you have other housing arrangements?" he asked.

"A-Actually, we're planning on staying in a hotel," I said, "We'll make other arrangements depending on how long-term the stay is."

The officer nodded.

"Good, good. Hotel fees are starting to get a little expensive here. They aren't really meant to keep you for more than a week or so," he said, then muttering, "Gets kinda expensive after four months…"

The rusty-haired officer glared at him.

"Are you seriously starting this right now? God, act professional. And he just asked for directions. He didn't ask for a tour guide," he snapped.

"Th-That's okay," I said, "It helps a lot. Thank you very much."

"Anytime," said the silver-haired officer, "I hope you find everything okay."

"Come on!" his partner barked irritably, "You want to go out and ask questions, so we can't waste any more time. We're already way behind!"

"Alright, alright already…"

Reluctantly, he followed after his antsy partner, telling us to take care as they left us. We bowed out of habit to thank them, but it felt a little embarrassing when people in the airport gave us funny looks. I watched after the two as they walked away from us, still quarrelling over their previous topic. They were awfully young to be professionals… maybe they were still in training, but I wasn't sure if they were ready for whatever case they had been assigned.

"Well… the one guy was pretty helpful," Yukari said, "Did he give you a schedule?"

I checked the paper in my hand, reading the name of the bus company as well as three separate times that were spaced out by an hour each. The first one was long-past, but the second one was at 8:45. I would rather catch the earliest bus rather than take the Metro. Besides, the bus made a stop at the academy. This way, we would know where it was at least.

"Let's head out to the entrance," I said, "We have half an hour to make the next stop. Once we get there, we can find a hotel."

The four of us headed out, walking past several groups of people being reunited after a long separation. One man stood alone with a small bouquet, the stems wrapped in yellow tissue paper and decorative plastic. A woman from behind us ran to him and threw her arms around him, unabashed by the kisses that he showered her with in a public area. I've never seen anything quite like that in Japan… Public affection isn't something I'm used to seeing at all. Maybe that's why Bebe didn't seem bothered by it when we were together. …I wish… he knew that I was here. Maybe then, we could have seen each other now. The couple kissing and hugging in the airport, crying and laughing as we told each other how dearly we missed the other…

After a long wait outside in the cold, the bus finally pulled up, waiting for us patiently as we loaded our belongings in the hull and boarded. Junpei sat beside me as Yukari and Aigis took the seats behind us just as the driver began to drive.

"Hey, I talked to the girls earlier on the plane while you were asleep," Junpei said quietly, "After we drop our stuff off at the hotel, we'll head out and split into separate groups. Yuka-tan and Ai-chan are going to check out the address on the envelope. It took me awhile to persuade Aigis, but she's going to let me go with you to look for Bebe."

I smiled at him, my own search partner. The fact that he had to fight over me with Aigis was flattering itself.

"Sounds good," I said, "I hope we can make a lot of progress today."

"I think we can," Junpei said confidently.

"Just don't expect to find him immediately," Aigis reminded us, "There are a lot of students enrolled at the academy. It might take some time. Besides, he may be back at his original address. We'll be sure to contact you if we find him."

For the rest of the ride, we sat silently, still getting over the long trip overseas. Gazing out the window, I took time to examine the city as we drove past several different stores. So this was Nanparaux… It wasn't as quaint as I'd pictured it, but it had something of a homey feel. It came to my attention that several buildings, restaurants particularly, had Japanese names. It was even sort of strange to me that there were Japanese antique stores with traditional armor and manga stores. I suppose it was for the interest of the Japanese businessmen, but it still seemed sort of strange to see that half the culture was ours while the other was French.

The bus stopped at a light beside a much larger building with several neon signs. I imagine it's the brightest thing in the city at night, judging by the lights. A department store… It seemed fairly new, only a few years old at most. The bus began moving again, and my eyes worked to keep my attention. This is insane; I felt so awake a minute ago… Now I feel like I have to fight with myself just to stay awake.

I'm not sure how big Rěvefutur Academy is, but I hope that we can find Bebe soon. I don't want him to spend another minute alone… I would even prefer to find that he's living at home, even with the uncle I heard so much about. Even if he wasn't at home anymore, maybe his uncle would be kind enough to tell us where he was and if he was okay. Hopefully, Yukari and Aigis can find out from him. I just hope…

* * *

Someone shook my arm, and it occurred to me that I had lost the fight with my eyelids. How long was I asleep? Reluctantly, I looked over at Junpei, who informed me that we had reached our stop. Rěvefutur Academy… we were already so close.

"Hang in there, Tetsuya," Junpei said, "We've got to get through the rest of the day. You're doing this for Bebe, remember?"

He's right. He's absolutely right. I can't afford to sleep through anymore of the day. I have to be strong for him. I have to stand.

We made sure to remove our bags from the hull of the bus quickly to avoid keeping the driver too long, making sure to thank him for helping us. As soon as he'd driven away, my friends began discussing where to stay based on the location. My attention, however, was fixed upon the campus.

Dammit. The school is huge. It's much larger than Gekkoukan and has several buildings. I suppose it's true that Rěvefutur is a college rather than a high school, but still… I've never seen a school this size before. Finding Bebe is going to take a lot longer than I hoped for.

"Hey, come on," Yukari called to me, "You and Junpei are going there in just a little while. We just need to check into a hotel. We'll come back. I promise."

It was hard to leave while I was right there, while I was so close, but I reluctantly responded to her and followed the rest of my group away from the campus. Soon…

"Hopefully we can find a place that isn't too expensive," Yukari said, "I don't know how long we're staying here, but I think we need somewhere that's comfortable but affordable."

"I don't know why you care. I have enough money to last a lifetime," I said, "We could probably stay at the most expensive place on the island."

"Don't get into habits like that, Tetsuya-kun," she sighed, "It's fine that you can afford it, but try to use your money more responsibly."

Aigis looked around carefully, reading signs meticulously.

"Maybe we should have just taken the Metro…" she murmured, "I don't think we'll find a hotel on this block. Most of what's around here is apartment complexes for the students living off-campus."

Great. So we wouldn't be as close to the school as I wanted to be. Just lovely.

With a sigh of disappointment, we kept heading down the sidewalk, and I could help but watch the academy over my shoulder as it shrank smaller and smaller. Soon… Until then, I would just have to hold my head up and bear it. Live in the moment, don't jump ahead, Tetsuya… We'll get there eventually…

* * *

An hour had already been wasted away by the time we located the nearest hotel, which was about two miles from the campus. My arms were beginning to exert the same pain as my legs from carrying the bags for so long. To my relief, the hotel's fees were reasonable enough that no one had a problem with staying there. We decided on two rooms with two beds on the same floor; girls in one room, Junpei and me in the other.

I thanked God for the elevator as the four of us were able to get on at the same time, weary from carrying pounds of luggage on our backs and arms. The cold temperature of Europe was the only thing keeping us from sweating profusely. The elevator door opened and we headed in the same direction to our neighboring rooms. Yukari and Aigis were able to get in okay, but Junpei was already swearing at our card key angrily. With a good roll of the eyes, I took it from him and swiped it once, able to open the door on my first try.

"I warmed it up for you," Junpei muttered.

The hotel's rooms had four different themes; water, grass, hearts, and roses. We had managed to avoid the hearts theme, but we did get stuck with roses. The pink covers and various pink pieces of furniture brought back a vivid memory from Shirakawa Boulevard that made me shudder. I would never even dream of taking Bebe there…

"Well… it's only for awhile…" I sighed.

"But why did we have to get this room…?" Junpei asked, evidently embarrassed to be sharing such a feminine room with me, "I mean, it would be okay if it was with Chidori, I guess, but we're guys…"

He looked down uncomfortably, noticing the rather narrow crevice provided between the beds.

"Do you mind if I space these out a little more?" he asked.

"Go ahead," I told him.

As he began to push the beds closer to their respective walls, it occurred to me that this was the first time Junpei left Chidori alone. Being engaged and so far away couldn't be easy on either of them. Yet he volunteered to help me, and Chidori was kind enough to let him go without hesitance.

"Are you okay leaving Chidori back at home?" I asked, "You're supposed to get married in a few months, aren't you?"

He smiled back at me.

"We should be back by then," he said, grunting as he gave his bed a final shove, "Even if we're not, she doesn't mind postponing a little. Love waits."

Love waits, huh…? What an interesting phrase. I used to think it only pertained to abstinence, but considering the situation, I'm not really sure what it means anymore… If anything it sort of irritates me to think I have to be patient about finding Bebe. I don't even know if he's okay…

"Come on, the girls are probably waiting on us," he said, already prepared to head back out. That's a relief; I'm glad I'm not the only one here wanting to go back as soon as possible.

With separate card keys, we headed out into the hallway to meet with the girls and confirm our plans. It was probably best that Aigis was going with Yukari, since she would serve as an interpreter. Not that Yukari's French was bad or anything, but she wasn't as fluent as I was and it could make things complicated when trying to communicate with Bebe's uncle. Before I knew it, we were already on our way back to the academy again. If only finding Bebe would go this quickly and smoothly.

* * *

It took another hour for Junpei and me to return to our desired destination on foot. From now on, I think it would be wise to just take a bus or a cab. Especially since the traffic laws here don't seem to favor pedestrians. We decided to cross the street even though the walk sign was about to change, and when it gave the incoming traffic the okay, they didn't seem to care that we weren't quite to the other side of the street. Junpei let out a screech as the front bumper of a car nudged his leg. The driver's only response was issuing us a stern warning by shaking his finger disapprovingly. Things over here are serious… We'd better watch our step, literally.

"Damn, I thought pedestrians had the right of way," Junpei grumped as we reached safety at the other side of the street.

I sighed and kept my pace, finally back on the campus where I wanted to be. Junpei scrambled to keep up with me, suddenly flustered after his scare.

"W-Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey," he stammered, "Let's talk about this for a second. What exactly is your plan here? You can't just go in there and ask for him. There's gotta be thousands of people enrolled here."

"I know that, I'm not stupid," I mumbled.

"But do you have an idea of how you want to do this?" Junpei asked.

I only had the most straightforward way to start, as poorly planned as it sounded.

"Well, I was planning to give the faculty office a visit, just to let them know why we're here at the very least so we don't look suspicious."

Junpei looked around at the students, and I mimicked him out of curiosity. It seemed that we were already too late for that, as the students were giving us funny looks. I'm not really sure if this attention is racism or just curiosity, but I'm noticing a lot of the girls don't look happy to see us at all. I wonder if there were some problems from another time that they're associating us with…

"I guess that's probably for the best…" Junpei murmured, "Maybe the faculty won't glare daggers at us…"

Slowly, we crept out the heated stares aimed our way and followed various signs around campus that eventually directed us to the main office. All the way there, we experienced the same animosity from other females, and even a few of the guys. It's not that it doesn't bother me, but I have bigger things to worry about.

I stepped into the main office, Junpei trailing behind me and keeping close, concerned by the unwanted attention. The plump lady at the front desk looked up at me, and I was relieved to see a pleasant and motherly smile that I hadn't seen since the airport.

"Yes, may I help you?" she asked.

"Hello, ma'am," I said politely, "My name is Tetsuya Saito. I'm looking for an old friend. He was an exchange student at Gekkoukan High School in Tatsumi Port Island, Japan. We think he's enrolled here, and I was wondering if you could help us find him."

The woman's smile faded a little, her eyes glazing over slightly with what I recognized as suspicion. I thought back over what I had asked and recognized my mistake immediately.

"I'm very sorry, but that's confidential information. It's our duty to ensure that our students are well-protected," she said patiently, "Perhaps if you were a family member, I could make arrangements."

"What? What'd she say?" Junpei asked, completely left out by the language barrier.

"Please… is there anything you can do?" I begged, "Anything…? I really need to see him…"

She stared at me, unmoved.

"Please…"

I tried as hard as I could to make her understand how desperate I was, even if it sounded childish. We'd already come this far… Don't turn me away… Please don't turn me away…

Sighing, she readjusted her glasses.

"If it's absolutely necessary," she said, "I can give him a message, or perhaps call him to the office over the intercom?"

I smiled, relieved that this would go easier than planned.

"Yes, that would be fantastic. Thank you," I smiled. She took a pen and let it hover over a pad of paper, looking down as she prepared to write down any information she might need from me.

"Name?"

"Pardon?"

"The friend you're looking for. What's his name?"

Before I could really think the question over, the name slipped off my tongue easily.

"Bebe."

The woman looked up at me slowly from her pad of paper, almost irritated. That was his name. I don't get it…

"Bebe…?" she asked, wanting me to go on.

… … … …

Oh, shit.

I'd totally forgotten… that wasn't his real name. That was the nickname his classmates gave him because his name was too long and difficult to remember. Shit! I can't remember what it was! Think back, think back. …we were discussing it one morning while we were lying in bed together. Started with an A… started with an A…

…dammit, I don't even know his last name. Even if I can come up with the first name, it doesn't mean anything to me… He just told me to call him by his nickname. Aw, hell, Bebe. Why does your birth name have to be so damn complicated?

"You don't know your friend's name?" asked the woman, more suspicious than before.

"What? What's wrong?" Junpei insisted.

"I can't remember his name…" I whispered.

"What?"

"I don't know his name."

"What the-? What do you mean you don't know his name?"

"His name isn't Bebe! I don't remember his real name!"

"The hell-? Wasn't he your boyfriend or something? Did you not tongue each other?"

"Whoa. Hey."

"Don't tell me you didn't. He's French. And you guys probably did it."

"Okay!" I snapped, "Focus! His name! I don't remember it!"

"Well how the hell should I know? I always just knew him as Bebe," Junpei replied, "Doesn't it say it in one of his letters?"

"I remember he put his name on the envelope, but that was lost with the other three pages."

Oh! Yukari!

I excused myself for a moment, going to the corner of the room with my new cell phone and texting her quickly.

_Hey, do you remember what name Bebe put on the envelopes of the letters?_

"You really think she'll remember?" Junpei asked unsurely, "I mean, if YOU can't remember it-"

"It's the only shot I've got," I said, "Maybe she can find out from Bebe's uncle if we're desperate enough."

My phone blipped and I opened her text quickly, praying for the answer I needed. It said:

_Bebe._

…dammit.

_Are you sure? I__t wasn't something else?_

_Positive._

_Where are you? Are you there yet?_

_Not quite. We just got off the Metro._

_When you get there, can you find out what Bebe's real name is?_

_We'll try. Good luck over there._

I sighed and shut my phone, placing it back in my pocket.

"It'll be awhile, but she's on it…" I told Junpei, "Thank God."

"Yeah, but… what are we supposed to do until then?" he asked.

He had a good point. If Yukari and Aigis were really just now getting off the Metro, it would be a long time before they actually found the address. At least she would text me the moment she found it out. Until then, I guess we're stuck doing this the tedious old-fashioned way.

I approached the woman at the desk again, knowing that I had to explain myself a little better if I didn't want to get escorted off the campus.

"Um… I'm really sorry," I apologized, "He went by a different name in Japan, so I don't know what he goes by here. Is… there anyway I can ask around for him?"

The woman was much less friendly than before, but I couldn't necessarily blame her after how vague I was being. I could try to explain my relationship with him and our current circumstances, but I hardly find it easy for someone else to believe. Even if it was believable, she could easily think I was just a creative liar. I wish there was a way to convince her that I wasn't as suspicious as I seemed…

"That's fine," she said lowly.

I blinked. She… was okay with that? Incredible.

"But keep in mind," she went on, "If you try anything funny, we currently have campus security on high alert right now. I would think twice before putting yourself in any compromising positions."

Ah. Got it.

I cleared my throat and stepped away from the desk, thanking her awkwardly for the half-hearted permission. Junpei tailed after me as I left the office briskly.

"Where are we going? What did she say?" he asked.

"We're free to search the campus," I told him.

"Oh, great," he groaned, "This is going to take forever."

"Not necessarily," I said, "Bebe had an eccentric personality, not just in Japan. I have a hard time buying that no one here has heard of him."

"Yeah, but is anyone even going to help us?" Junpei asked, "I could tell that lady had an issue with us. Face it; we stick out like a sore thumb. I have yet to see a student who's not a blonde."

"What choice do we have?" I asked, "Bebe could be anywhere in the school. Based on what we already have, there isn't anything else we can do… Believe me, if there were an easier way, I'd take it."

Junpei sighed, his head falling to his feet for a moment. I know he was thinking we flew in without a strategy, and we technically did. I was better at planning before; that's why I was the leader. I didn't really blame Junpei if he thought I'd lost my leadership skills, but I at least hope he can just trust me. All I need is for someone to put faith into my intuition.

After a long pause, he looked back up at me with a smile.

"Alright," he said, "We can take as long as we need to. Bebe's gotta be around here somewhere, right? We just have to find him and get you two back together again."

I felt the worry ease off my chest, bringing a smile to my lips as I felt his loyalty touch my heart. Junpei was truly the best friend I needed him to be.

He looked back and forth, searching around randomly.

"Without further ado, I think we should start with that chick over there," he said, "She looks like the sewing type."

I looked over my shoulder at a lanky girl with her hair in a bun, two little knitting needles piercing them to keep the bun in place. Her sweater looked like self-designed fashion statement. I gave Junpei a look.

"It's a Fashion Academy," I told him, "Almost everyone here in the sewing type."

"Whatever," he sighed with a fleeting roll of the eyes and a jerky shrug, "Let's ask her anyway."

He glided around me, approaching the girl without another word from me. I guess it's best if we ask anyone that we see, but it seems just a little weird to go up to people so casually. At least act like you're all business, Junpei, sheesh… …wait, he doesn't speak a word of French. What the hell?

"Yo!" he called out to her, and she started at his greeting. Oh, crap. I hurried to catch up with him, dealing him a quick smack against the back of his head to remind him that he was an idiot.

"Pardon me," I said more politely, "Can we just ask you a few questions?"

Without a simple response, she turned quickly with fear pouring down her face and hurried away from us. Junpei flashed me glare.

"Nice one," he said tartly.

"Hey, you're the one taking this too lightly," I snapped, "Don't act like you're just trying to start a casual conversation or they'll think we're trying to hit on them or something."

"Ooh, yeah, and 'can we just ask you a few questions' doesn't sound like an interrogation at all," he responded flatly.

I rolled my eyes and sallied on ahead, trying to drop the argument in order spare us time and irritation. I don't really feel like spending the rest of this endless day angry with him. I'll just do things my way, seeing that I'm the one who speaks the language.

"Hey, there!"

DAMMIT.

I thrust an irritable stare in Junpei's direction as he began to deviate down another walkway towards a couple. Is he serious?

"Hi, I'm Junpei. Can I ask you guys somethin'?" he asked.

The girl's expression contorted uncomfortably, clutching the strap on her messenger bag defensively. Her lover placed his arm around her as he escorted her way, sparing my friend a single deadly glance. Junpei, being more sensitive than most, took the brush-off more personally than needed.

"Yeah, well, screw you too," he said.

Ohh, thank God they can't understand him…

I went to his side slowly to calm him, and he was already admitting defeat.

"Yeah, yeah, you were right, I was wrong. What else is new?" Junpei sighed.

I smiled wryly, patting his shoulder.

"It might have worked back home, but the atmosphere here is a little more tense," I said.

"You think?"

"I don't really understand the hostility either, but we've just gotta keep trying. Surely, there's gonna be someone who won't turn us away."

He sighed in a way that admitted he knew I had a point. Although, I do understand his worries as much as he understands mine. The attention we had received from everyone was awfully strange, considering we hadn't done anything to deem ourselves suspicious, save for the incident in the office. Despite everything, we kept close as we walked on.

* * *

The sun was now nearing the other end of the sky, and neither of our methods had appealed to those on the campus. If anything, we were just getting further annoyed by the refusal to assist someone of a different race. Jeez, the Japanese were supposed to be all over the place here. Was there really that much narrow-mindedness? No one in the city was like this… why the school?

"Damn, I thought everyone would be a lot friendlier," Junpei muttered, "I mean, Bebe was always so cheerful and social. Why can't there be more like him?"

"Seriously…" I sighed, "It wouldn't kill people to give us a minute of their time. We don't bite."

Though I didn't want to rest, Junpei and I both agreed that taking a break to clear our minds was probably for the best. We stopped beside a building held by large pillars, leaning against the side with all our weight just to relieve our legs for a moment. I removed my phone from my pocket to check for a text from Yukari, but I still hadn't heard from her since morning.

"It's already four thirty…" Junpei muttered as he looked at his watch, "I'm starving…"

"I'm sorry… we'll stop to get you food if we find a place, but I can't stay put for too long," I told him.

He looked over at me.

"You can't do that, y'know?" he said, "You need to take care of yourself. I mean, look at you, you're already paper-thin and you still have circles under your eyes. If you can't sleep, at least eat. I know you like to. I've seen the way your face lights up."

I smiled awkwardly, chuckling.

"You're actually that concerned about me?" I asked.

"We lost you once; I don't want to see you leave again," he said firmly.

"I'm not going anywhere," I promised, "I still have to see Bebe again. I can't break my promise again."

"Bonjour!"

I looked behind myself with a start, alarmed by the voice that squeaked into my ear. When my eyes fell upon the chest of a male, I scanned up a few more inches to meet his face. His blonde hair framed his thin reddened cheeks and fell in front of his left eye, leaving exposed a sky blue eye that looked down at me timidly. Behind a black and purple striped sweater, his figure appeared slightly built, though he was slender in an almost feminine way. He held himself awkwardly, as if he was unwilling to stand before me. It wasn't the same as the others before him; he seemed shy or embarrassed, even…

…surely… this tiny, feminine voice did not come from him…

"Down here!"

This time, my eyes dropped down as the voice had called up to me. A pair of identical sky blue eyes gazed up at me, friendly and innocent as can be. A tiny little girl smiled at me, her height only reaching the waist of the boy behind her. A light blue beret rested upon her blonde hair that was twisted into ridiculously long braided pigtails. Such a voice coming from her made more sense.

"O-Oh!" I stammered, "Hello."

"I saw you two asking around earlier. You are lost, non?" she asked sweetly.

Oh, finally. Someone who could help us. Rather, someone who was willing to help us.

"A-Actually, we're trying to find someone," I said, "He's a dear friend of mine from long ago, and I'm trying to meet with him again."

"How nice," she remarked with a pleasant smile.

"The problem is…" I went on, "We don't know how to find him. He went by a nickname when he was with me, and I don't remember his real name."

"Perhaps he still goes by the nickname," she suggested, "If you tell me, I can ask around. It's no trouble."

Why couldn't we have found her in the first place? She's exactly the kind of person we needed!

"He went by Bebe," I told her.

Her smile fell a little and she seemed troubled by the name I had spoken. It was as if I had placed a heavy burden on her shoulders from the title alone.

"Oh, my. What a common name…" she said with a titter, "I understand why this is difficult, now."

"Yeah…"

"But your friend is a boy, so that narrows it down. Bebe can go both ways."

"H-Huh?"

"It is a unisex name. Both boys and girls can have it."

"O-Oh. Both ways; unisex. Gotcha."

"I don't usually come across many boys with the name, so it may be easier than we think," she said, "Either way, we will see what we can do."

It took me a moment to realize that she was referring to the tall boy behind her, who faced away from us since he wasn't involved in the conversation. Something tells me he's feeling the way the others do, yet he can't do anything about it for the sake of the little girl.

"I… take it he doesn't really like us either?" I asked her.

She looked up at the boy and then at me reassuringly.

"Oh, no, no," she said, fanning her hand, "He's just a little shy. I'm sure he's just as eager to help you. Besides, you haven't done anything to cause any dislike. You're only looking for a friend."

Thank GOD someone here gets that.

My phone blipped, and we all started. Oh! Perfect timing! Yukari has a response. Maybe she found Bebe's uncle. Plus I can tell these two what his name is. I fished my phone from my pocket and flipped it open, anxiously running my eyes along the short message.

_Come back to the hotel. We need to talk._


	4. Searching

**Rendezvous**

**Chapter Three – Searching**

Tearing through the lobby of the hotel, I reached the elevator and rapidly struck the button to take me to the second floor. Come on, come on, come on! What floor is the damn thing on? Junpei finally caught up to me, panting heavily after our reckless half-hour race through rushing traffic as I completely disregarded all stop signs at crosswalks. Screeching breaks still rang in my ears, bringing up the haunted memories that only further encouraged my anxiety. Don't let this be happening… I can't lose anyone else… I just can't…

The bell chimed nonchalantly as the doors of the elevator slid open at a leisurely pace, only to be disgruntled as I squeezed through the narrow opening and attacked the second floor button repeatedly. Junpei managed to slip in as the doors closed, taking us slowly up the floors. At this point, it would've been faster to take the stairs.

When the door opened, I flew out like a bat out of hell and bolted down the hallway to Yukari and Aigis' room. My shaking hands assisted in rapidly knocking on the door until it opened. Yukari stared up at me, alarmed by my state.

"Tetsuya-?" she exclaimed.

"Yuka-tan, what happened?" Junpei asked, his voice heavy with fear. Fear that I was feeling one hundred times worse than he. I didn't want to hear that Bebe was dead. I couldn't handle it… I would die…

"Are you guys okay?" she asked, still concerned with the panic we both displayed.

"Let them in," Aigis told her.

Yukari stepped to the side to allow us room, and I found myself unable to walk in a straight line. Everything was getting dark and blurry and the room began to spin. If I'm going to die this way… I will actually fear death, despite having no more reason to live. This way is far more horrifying… Instead of a peaceful sleep, I can feel the claws of Death grasping at my neck and pulling away from the world and life I have…

"Tetsuya!"

I stumbled and fell upon the desk in the room, supporting my weight with only my forearms and upper body strength. Aigis was on her feet, but her roommate was closer. Yukari and Junpei helped me back up, trying to make sure that I hadn't injured myself. All the while, my breath was noisy with squeaks and unstable consistency.

"Hey, hey, calm down," Yukari said softly, "You're okay."

"Yukari…?" I croaked, tears beginning to burn in my eyes. I couldn't figure out how to form a simple sentence. How could I?

"What happened?" she asked, "You're both a mess…"

"What do you mean 'what happened'? That text you sent…!" Junpei barked.

"Wha-?"

Yukari looked in Aigis' direction abruptly, glaring at her fiercely.

"What the hell did you text?" she barked.

"I told them to come back and that we needed to talk," Aigis responded simply, "That's what you said we needed to do."

"Dammit, Aigis! You didn't have to make it sound so serious! Do you understand how that was taken?"

She looked back at me, stroking my hair.

"Settle down," she coaxed, "That's not what happened. He's not dead…"

"We still don't know that," Aigis piped up.

"STOP THAT! Tetsuya, it's fine. Everything is fine…"

My breathing finally began to stabilize, but my entire body still quaked with fear.

"What happened? Did you find his address?" I asked shakily.

Yukari nodded.

"Yeah, we found it," she said.

She moved me over and sat me on one of the beds, holding my hand.

"We talked to his uncle," she said, "He's the only one living there now."

"Wh-What do you mean…?" I croaked.

Yukari handed off the story to Aigis, likely due to the fact that she had heard everything herself.

"He's… he's not a very friendly man," Aigis muttered, "It was difficult to obtain any information from him, but what we did manage to extract was useful."

I had assumed Bebe's uncle wouldn't be the warmest character, especially considering the way Bebe withdrew whenever he brought him up. One of Bebe's biggest fears was his uncle, who was supposedly mafia-like and often inebriated.

"What did you find out about Bebe?" Junpei asked.

The pause following, though brief, boiled irritation in my chest. Just say it! I need to know!

"He ran away from home last year," Aigis said.

…ran… away…?

"Why would he do that…?" Junpei asked.

"Who knows…?" Yukari asked, "His uncle said it was random, but I think there's more to the story…"

"He ran away from him…" I whispered, "…he got away…"

"Yeah, I don't really blame him for running away," Yukari snorted, "His uncle's a dick."

"Whooooooooa, Yuka-tan!" Junpei exclaimed.

"Hey, I'm just being honest here! He makes it sound like he's gonna lay into him once he finds him! He wouldn't even use his name! We tried to ask him, but he kept saying that that name was dead to him and he refused to speak a name that didn't even share the same family surname! Bebe didn't exaggerate about him at all! And he's actually got guys who are out looking for him!"

Aigis looked back at me.

"If anything, you were closer to finding Bebe today than we were," she said, "His uncle says that he has suspicions that he's hiding somewhere at Rěvefutur Academy, but the school keeps that information confidential. Apparently, there was a big fight about the scholarship. He wanted Bebe to stay closer to home, but Bebe didn't want to be held back anymore."

The hell-? Why wouldn't he want Bebe to take the opportunity? It was paid for and everything! I guess I forgot exactly how much I despised Bebe's uncle. Rather, I forgot exactly how awful he sounded.

"I think it's safe to assume we're close to finding him," Yukari said, "He's okay, Tetsuya… We'll find him…"

We'll find him… At least someone else believes that… There's still a chance of finding him… I still have a chance…

My mind had gotten the message but my body had yet to catch up, still rigid and continuing to quake. Letting out a shaken sigh, I lowered my face into my palms and held my head as I struggled to calm myself. Aigis sighed as well, though it didn't sound nearly the same.

"This is exactly why I didn't want to come here…" she muttered, "It's a false alarm for now, but knowing how you'll react if you do discover such news…"

"Aigis, seriously. Drop it already," Yukari hissed, "I understand where you're coming from, but it's coming off as insensitive. What Tetsuya needs is someone who's willing to support him no matter what."

"And I am willing to do just that. I'm here to be whatever he needs me to be," Aigis said solemnly, "That's why it's so hard to watch him fall apart."

"Well… that also might have to do with the fact that we haven't eaten anything," Junpei piped up.

"What?" Yukari exclaimed, "Well no wonder you almost passed out! Seriously, take care of yourself, Tetsuya! You don't want Bebe to see you emaciated and malnourished."

I looked up at her with a slight glare. I know they're worried about me, but it's starting to get annoying.

"Okay, mother," I hissed.

Her eyes narrowed and a mocking smile spread across her lips.

"I'm going to ignore that, seeing that your blood sugar is low and you're not thinking straight. Come on, let's go find somewhere to eat," she said, motioning for me to stand up.

"Awesome! Who's up for Japanese food?" Junpei asked with a zealous grin.

"You go to France and want to eat Japanese food? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Junpei's face fell drastically into a childish fear, practically pouting with his eyes.

"I don't want to eat frogs and snails…" he whimpered with a babyish whine.

The rest of us laughed, which seemed to please him as a comic. We eventually persuaded him to be a little more adventurous, and set out to find a place with a balanced menu that was appealing to all of us. Strangely, though I know I am, I don't feel hungry in the slightest. All the running around kept my mind busy and off my stomach's needs. I could go a few days without food, but I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to live without him…

We found a small restaurant near the hotel with outdoor seating, which was something that Yukari evidently wanted badly, so we ended up eating there. The conversation bounced around with my friends, discussing the experiences they'd already had in France earlier in the day as they ate. I, on the other hand, kept to my own thoughts as I savored the meal.

Bebe ran away from home, likely as an act of rebellion or defiance, in order to attend Rěvefutur Academy, which was strictly forbidden by his uncle for reasons I didn't quite understand. He must have reached a breaking point. I seem to remember Bebe sounding much happier with his uncle in his letter. In one of those misplaced pages… It was because of him that he stayed here. Bebe gave up everything for him—myself included—only to be forced to the point of fleeing. Selfish bastard… What did he do to him…?

I don't want to be here anymore… I want to find Bebe and take him back with me; I want to bring him home… Back where he belongs… I don't want to sit here knowing that we're so close. Even if we're in the same building, it could take forever to find him… Will I even be able to make it? Every day that I come back to the hotel without him, it will only make me lose more and more faith. Eventually, I'll start siding with Aigis, wondering if Bebe is even still breathing.

I can't do that… I can't lose any hope, or I'll start giving up on him. Before I go any further, I need to make a promise to myself. Have some sort of reminder that I won't stop searching until I find the one I'm meant to be with. I looked up from my clean plate, realizing that the light which I thought came from the setting sun now came from the city's lights. All the buildings here are so bright… Each has a personality that begs for individual attention. Each seems to have its own sparkle…

Sparkle… I looked down at my left hand… a promise… …maybe… I can make a promise this way. In more than one way, in fact. It barely needs any more thought than I've already given it, even if it is forever. I know that it will last, and I won't change my mind. I removed a fair sum of Euros from my wallet and placed them on the table, catching the attention of my friends immediately.

"Where are you going?" Junpei asked.

"I just want to go out alone for a little while. It shouldn't take me too long," I told them, "I'll be back by tonight. See you guys later."

They let me go, but I could tell it wasn't something they wanted to do, especially not Aigis. Considering my state from before and my unhealthy habits, I suppose they have every right to be worried, but this really won't take long. I just need to make a promise…

* * *

Midnight had come and gone and I was still sitting up in bed awake, holding my knees tightly against my chest and gritting my teeth as I tried to bear the pain throbbing in my legs. How much longer is this supposed to go on…? How much taller am I supposed to get…?

Another throb ripped its way through my tendons and I let out a quiet moan, waking Junpei to my regret. Stumbling with sleep, he squinted through the dark at me, realizing I had been the one to utter a noise.

"Tetsuya…?" he asked, slurring, "You okay?"

I shook my head, wanting to move more but finding myself unable to do so without painful consequences. With a quick flip of the covers, he was out of his bed and sitting on the side of mine, rubbing my shoulder comfortingly.

"Hang in there…" he whispered, "It'll all be over with soon, right? You won't grow forever or anything."

I clenched my teeth and gripped the material of my pants as another wave went up and down my shin. Why does it have to feel like a Shadow is trying to rip my legs off?

"You want me to get you a pain killer? I brought some with me just in case…" he offered.

"I already tried—that," I responded, choking on a sharp ache, "It doesn't help anything… I just have to wait until everything—subsides."

"Do you want me to stay up and talk with you?" Junpei asked.

I shook my head again.

"No, you don't have to do that… we have to get up early tomorrow morning…"

"I don't mind," he said, "Hey, think about this… Yuka-tan and Ai-chan are going to be able to keep an eye out for Bebe too. We've doubled the amount of eyes, so our chances of finding him are even better now."

Though it should have been, I had a hard time finding the idea reassuring considering the amount of pain I felt was far too intense to keep my mind off easily.

"Can you imagine what it'll be like when he sees you again?" Junpei asked with a smile, "I remember back when we were all at the dorm, and… you would walk into the room, and his whole face would just light up as if someone had flipped a switch on. I think… in some ways, he's looking for you too. As long as you're both searching, you'll find each other."

I turned my head to look at him; he looked sort of funny without his hat, but the part that was strangest to me was his gravity. Even though he was always joking around and acting like an idiot most of the time, he truly felt deeper things in his heart. I can only wonder what else goes through that incredible mind of his.

"You really believe that…?" I asked.

"'Course I do," he responded with a grin that I felt more comfortable with, "And when you find him, or he finds you, I think you'll both pick up right where you left off. Does that help any?"

Immediately, the pain in my legs screamed and I let out a soft cry as I became aware of it once again. For a flitting moment, just thinking about seeing Bebe's face again was enough to deviate my thoughts. Junpei, realizing that he shouldn't have spoken up about it, patted my back and apologized sincerely.

He stayed awake with me for two hours, as long as the pain was still there. Once it was bearable enough for me to sleep, he went back to his own bed and was snoring within seconds of resting his head on the pillow. He's such a good friend for putting up with me… I finally lay down, realizing how stiff my back was from sitting up for so long. I want to be able to rest properly… I want my mind to be fresh for when I go back tomorrow. I don't know how much progress I can make if I'm tired.

Even if I am… this isn't about me. This is for Bebe. I have to make sure he's okay. As long as he's okay… I'll be okay. Finally, I understand what he meant when he said those same words to me. …hold on, Bebe… just a little longer…

* * *

I returned to the academy alone the following morning. I couldn't wait any longer and I wasn't going to wait on everyone else. I embarked across the campus, my feet leading the way rather than my mind. Even though I don't know the campus as well as I'd like to, I have to keep pushing forward. He can't be far. He's here somewhere… After rounding building after building and seeing nothing but dull colors at every turn, I started to notice how quiet the school was. Am I… too early…?

Just then, I turned to face a large area of enclosed within the school. Flowers blossomed and flourished upon the bright green grass. A large tree grew in the center, raining leftover aromatic petals to make room for the incoming leaves of green. Beneath the tree stood a figure, facing away from me so that I could only see his back. Even from behind, I recognized him instantly, my heart skipping inside my chest.

I cried out to him and ran forward with open arms, overjoyed and relieved that I'd found him safe and healthy. But as I approached, I realized that he wasn't alone. I hadn't even noticed the second figure, wrapping his arms lovingly around the one I had given my heart to. Bebe smiled back at him, kissing his lips lovingly, blushing the way he did when he was with me.

Everything in that moment was still and my legs were weighed down by the heavy truth. My heart no longer skipped, or beat for that matter, only aching as a hole began to suck everything inward. I tried to speak out but my breath caught in the middle of a word as my life began to disappear. The brief noise made its way to Bebe's ears, and he turned to face me with a face pouring over in horror as he began to cry.

"Tetsuya… Gomen nasai… I couldn't wait for you forever…" he said softly, "Please forgive me…"

I fell to my knees, trying to look up at him again but only to see black patches blocking everything out but the figure that held Bebe. A smile curved his lips as he gazed down upon me tauntingly with piercing blue eyes, sadistically satisfied by the dying of my heart.

"Too bad. You were so close," he sneered, "You look tired, Tetsuya… Rest assured, he's in good hands… you can sleep in peace forever…"

It wasn't until the blackness took him away that I realized who stole Bebe's heart away.

* * *

"RYOJI-!"

Only a groan responded as I cried out. I searched around rapidly, confused. What happened…? Where did they go…? Where the hell am I…? The entire room was dark, save for a single line of white that peeked through the thick pink curtains. …the hotel…?

Was it… all just a dream…? But it was so vivid… like no dream I'd ever had before. Everything was so real… I could feel the wind and smell the flowers from the tree… I could feel my heart contracting with the vacuum… Bebe's voice… Ryoji's voice… they were exactly like I remembered them. I heard them… How could it… be just a dream?

The small voice grunted again and the rustling of sheets tickled my ear. I checked the other side of the room, noticing a cocoon of sheets in the neighboring bed. Oh… Junpei's here. Oops…

My eyes fell upon the digital clock on the nightstand, trying to focus and read the red numbers. 9:14… Great. I'd managed five hours of sleep. That should hold me over for awhile… We've still got plenty of time today. Better get moving…

Reluctantly, I swept the warm covers from legs and shivered as cold air grabbed my bare feet, which were a little further away from my body as they were yesterday. I must be over six feet tall by now… This is strange, considering I was fairly short for my age just a week ago… I pushed off the mattress, swinging my legs over the side of the bed to rest my feet on the floor. Waiting only a moment for the sleep to wear off, I stood up and walked groggily to the window, drawing the curtains.

Junpei groaned a third time as light spilled into the room and illuminated the rosy areas.

"No…" he grunted, "Don't wanna get up…"

"Sorry," I apologized, feeling bad knowing that it was because he had stayed up with me, "But it's morning. We need to get ready to go."

"No."

He wrapped himself even more tightly in the sheets, stuck his rear end up in the air, and inched forward until he had burrowed under his pillow, greatly resembling a caterpillar. …okay… I guess I'll get dressed and try again later.

I went to my suitcase and pulled out a fresh new outfit, throwing it on quickly. I was glad that I had thought to shower the night before since it saved me a lot of time this morning. After quickly brushing my teeth and gathering the three pages of Bebe's letter and my journal, I came back out to check up on my slumbering friend. Carefully, I lifted the pillow and peeked at him, chuckling as I noticed that he'd begun to drool.

"Junpei…" I singsonged sweetly, as if trying to awaken my four-year-old son, "Time to wake up."

His face contorted from the peaceful rest and he faced away from me defiantly, whining,

"No. Don't wanna. Junpei sleepy."

…make that my three-year-old son.

Impatiently, I nudged him.

"Come on," I grumped, "What happened to that 'I'll stick by you' attitude from yesterday?"

"It got sleepy," he mumbled.

"Ugh! This is why I told you not to stay up with me last night! Damn you, get up!"

"Mmergh."

I threw my hands up in the air irritably, groaning. Well! There goes one pair of eyes!

"Fine," I snarled, "You can sleep in as long as you want. I'm heading out with Yukari and Aigis. You can join us later."

"Mm…"

I stormed away from my bed-ridden friend angrily, leaving him to his dreams. Whatever. I can do this with the girls just as well…

I left the hotel room and walked to the neighboring room, knocking casually on the door despite my irritability. I can't believe he would just give up like that, surrendering to a need for sleep. Hell, I hadn't had a decent night's rest since before Bebe left Japan. I'm up and going on five hours of sleep and a shitload of adrenaline. He had only missed two hours. "We're doing this for Bebe" my ass.

The door opened finally, and Aigis' apologetic face immediately irked me. What now?

"Tetsuya? Where's Junpei?" she asked.

"In bed," I said flatly, "He stayed up with me last night after I told him not to, and now he doesn't want to get out of bed."

She covered her mouth, concerned.

"Oh… that is a problem…" she said quietly.

"Naw, sh- wait. Why?" I asked, suddenly noticing her tone.

Aigis looked behind herself at the beds, motioning at a slumbering Yukari, who looked haggard and pale.

"Yukari fell very ill last night. She suspects it was from dinner, but she was up vomiting all night regardless of the cause," she said.

"What? But you ordered the same thing!" I cried.

"Yes, and I am a machine. I don't get sick," she reminded me, "In any case, I don't feel comfortable leaving her by herself in this state.""

…seriously?

"Are you kidding me…?" I asked, "There's absolutely no one who can go out right now?"

"I'm very sorry…" Aigis apologized sincerely, "But I can't leave her sick."

I sighed, placing a hand to my head.

"No… not really," I said, "But… it does make things difficult being three people short. I guess I'm just going to be on my own today…"

"It seems that way…" Aigis said quietly, "I don't really feel good about letting you go alone either…"

She didn't say why, but I had a feeling it had to do with her constant refrain. That and the dream from last night were both things I had to worry about. I'm not sure which one would be easier for me to deal with, but I suppose as long as Bebe's happy, I can't get too upset. Still, the idea of him in someone else's arms besides my own twists my stomach in horrendous ways…

"Well… whatever I find is remains a mystery for now. I guess I'll just have to find out for myself," I said, "Tell Yukari I wish her better health. And tell Junpei 'Screw you' for me."

"Good luck, Tetsuya."

I blinked in surprise at the words. She… was wishing me luck…? Even though she was obviously opposed to this plan, she was wishing me luck…? What a sweet girl… I smiled at her.

"Thanks, Aigis," I said, and she blushed as she smiled back, waving good bye to me.

She closed the door again, leaving me in the hallway alone. Alone… I suppose that's how I'll be spending my day… With a sigh, I walk away with only my thoughts to accompany me.

* * *

The cab I managed to catch brought me to the campus in very little time compared to how long it took to walk. Without a doubt in my mind, I'll be travelling by taxi from now on. Anything to save me time, at this point. Now that I'm here at a reasonable hour, I may be able to catch the students who avoided early-morning classes.

After paying the driver the fare, I walked briskly through the gates and searched around for someone to ask. Anyone… Just don't let this be like last night… Please…

A group of guys walked past me, casually chatting and carrying on about an assignment from one of their classes. I tried to catch their attention, but I don't think they heard me. Facing forward again, I started to notice more people walking around in groups. For an hour, I tried to approach each of them, but they deliberately ignored my attempts to get attention like the others from yesterday. It really isn't just the fact that was with someone yesterday; they don't want anything to do with us. Maybe I need to be more persistent.

A girl walked in my direction and I stepped in front of her.

"Excuse, can you help me find somebody?" I asked.

She started to go around me, but I blocked her again, which was apparently the wrong move.

"Get away from me, you pervert!" she barked, "And tell your friend to get lost!"

She managed to get away while I was stunned by the outburst. The hell-? I didn't make any advances and neither did Junpei! Why would she assume something so serious about us?

Of course, a girl yelling the word "pervert" at a guy doesn't get him any sympathy, so everyone surrounding sort of cleared out after she stormed off. Finding Bebe is already going to be difficult. Why do they have to make it so impossible? I sighed and sat down on a bench, rubbing my face wearily. Is there no one…? Do I really have to do this completely alone…?

"Oh! Hello again!"

I looked up, recognizing the tiny voice immediately. Before me stood the petite girl and the tall boy from yesterday. Oh, what luck.

"Hey," I said with a slight smile, "Glad to see you again."

The little girl's face seemed sunny as she beamed, standing cutely with her hands behind her back and swayed her head, her pigtails dancing with her movements.

"It's good to see you again as well," she said, "I was very worried about you all night. Wasn't I, Pierre?"

She looked up at the taller boy behind her, who still looked away from us. He glanced at her briefly, uninterested.

"Yeah, she was," he said quietly.

I suppose I did take off rather quickly after reading that text. My manner probably called for some sort of concern, considering that I nearly passed out when I got back.

"Is everything okay?" asked the girl.

I nodded.

"Well… for now…" I said, "There was a slight concern yesterday that we had found my friend in regrettable circumstances. It turns out that he may still be here after all."

For some reason, the girl seemed personally relieved.

"Thank goodness for that," she sighed with an unchanged smile, "By the way, I never caught your name yesterday."

"Tetsuya," I told her, "Tetsuya Saito."

"It's nice to meet you, Tetsuya," she replied cheerily, "My name is Marie, and this is my brother, Pierre."

Pierre glanced at me briefly, opening his mouth and greeting me with a half-hearted "Eh." Such a strange one… I find it hard to believe these two are related aside from hair and eye color.

"He's… your brother?" I asked.

"You can't tell either?" Marie asked, amused, "Nobody can. They think I'm messing with them when I tell them he's my younger twin."

…honestly, I feel like she _is _screwing around with me. The older twin of the ridiculously tall boy? How old is she, anyway?

"Seriously?" I asked.

"Mm-hmm," Marie responded with a nod, "Obviously, we're fraternal, but we've been by each other's sides since birth. I had to keep Pierre safe from all the bullies in grade school."

"Ah," I said, "So the people here are just naturally unfriendly."

Marie shook her head quickly, almost flustered.

"O-Oh! Non, non! Don't misunderstand me! They are usually very nice. It's just… well… They're a little shaken at the moment. Things have been… funny lately," she said hesitantly.

"Funny?" I asked.

"W-Well… a lot of, um… a lot of strange people have been around lately. There are men around the school who have been keeping an eye on the students. They don't do anything, they just watch. We don't know who they are or what they're doing, but it's making everyone uneasy. They're part of the reason security is so high right now."

This girl truly was helpful in more ways than I could have imagined. I felt like I could ask her anything and get an answer.

"What's the other reason?" I asked her.

She withdrew, shying away from my question, but unable to leave me without a response.

"W-Well… uh…" she stuttered, "Don't… take this personally, but the students have been on edge since the beginning of March. I never saw the man for myself, but some girls have been talking about a peeping tom. No one has seen much of him, but enough to know that he has bleached hair and that he's Japanese…"

Ah. So it IS a form of racism. Although, I don't blame the girls for their paranoia. Bleached hair is usually a pretty bad sign…

"I don't personally discriminate," Marie reassured me, "Our older brother does a lot of business over in Japan and has many wonderful stories that are truly fascinating. Just because one man is peeking doesn't mean they all are, right?"

"That's true," I told her, smiling a little.

"Don't forget the comas…" Pierre said lowly, catching me off-guard.

Comas…? What a strange topic to bring up… Evidently, this was a touchy subject since Marie's face fell completely.

"Oh… yes…" she muttered, "A lot of people have been slipping into comas for no diagnosable reason and dying. It's an epidemic that's putting everyone on the island on edge nowadays. Actually… we just returned from our grandmother's funeral last weekend. In a way, it has affected us as well."

So, all of this tension had multiple factors. Still… random comas that could strike at anytime… Terrifying, really… Marie and Pierre had both grown rather somber after bringing up their late grandmother. I need to speak up…

"I'm sorry to hear that…" I said softly.

"Oh, it's quite all right," Marie sighed with a melancholy smile as she blinked away large tears.

Abruptly, she switched her mood back to normal as she changed the subject.

"Enough about us," she chirped, "I want to know more about you. By the way, where is the friend from yesterday?"

My eyes rolled and she chuckled as anger rolled through my body again.

"In bed, refusing to get up," I said.

I knew immediately that I had to reword that as both of them look at me with panic.

"He's tired and basically pushed me away when I tried to make him get up early. I actually have two other friends helping out as well, but one has food poisoning, so the other is staying behind to take care of her while I look around by myself," I explained.

"Oh, goodness!" Marie exclaimed, "That's terrible!"

"Yeah, but they'll be okay. Yukari's a pretty tough girl, so I'm sure she'll be on her feet soon," I assured her.

"Oh, that's good."

Marie walked to the side and sat beside me on the bench with her legs crossed in a ladylike manner, though she swung them childishly. Despite that the small size of his sister left ample space for him on the bench, Pierre seemed uncomfortable with her friendliness toward me and remained standing, but she wasn't bothering me at all.

"So," she said lightly, "I want to know more about this friend of yours."

"Which one?" I asked.

"Bebe," she responded, "You didn't talk much about him, and I want to know more so I can get an idea of who I'm looking for."

I suppose I didn't give her a lot of information yesterday. It wouldn't be a bad idea, considering that she offered to help me look for him. The more background she has on Bebe, the easier it will be for her to find him.

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"Everything," she said, "I want to know what he looks like, what his interests are, what kinds of things you did together… you know, things like that."

Oh, so… a really full background. Hm… where to begin?

"Well… he's got soft, sort of short bowl-ish golden-blonde hair, baby blue eyes, and fair porcelain skin…" I began.

"Uh-huh…" she responded, almost eager for some odd reason.

"He likes to sew, and he really loves Japanese culture. He was fond of sweets…"

It was hard not to remember our times together at the Sweet Shop, sharing different dishes and laughing together. In all honesty, I think I can understand why Bebe treasured those visits so dearly. Even though they rarely involved us touching or kissing, those were some of the more heartfelt and magical memories…

"Go on," said Marie, leaning a little closer.

I cleared my throat and went on,

"He was an exchange student at my high school in Japan, called Gekkoukan. Everybody found his name too difficult to pronounce, so they just started calling him Bebe. I guess that was before he started getting picked on. We met at a bookstore and he asked me to join the Fashion Club since he was the president. And did, and since then we became really close. His uncle wasn't going to let him stay in Japan after his aunt died, but… um… due to some circumstances, he was allowed to stay in our dorm. I think I got to learn a lot more about him once he was so clo-"

"What was he to you, exactly?" Marie asked abruptly.

I looked at her promptly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"What did he mean to you?"

…I find this question to be deeper than necessary. I guess I'll just go with it, but I want to stay close to the surface.

"He um… he meant a lot to me," I said, "From the moment we met… we had a sort of connection. I felt like… I needed to be there to defend him. Everything he went through was my fault, but… at the same time, I don't regret a minute that I was with him. In a lot of ways… he saved me from myself. I owe everything to him. And… I've gotta let him know that I'm still here…"

Marie sat closer still.

"So what was he to you?" she asked.

"…he was the one who saved my life," I responded.

"Yes, but… what else?" she asked.

What the hell? Why is she insisting on this? I guess I can trust her, but I'd still rather keep the intimate details to myself.

"He was my boyfriend…" I replied finally.

Pierre's attention was suddenly away from the other end of the campus and glued to me for the first time.

"I knew it," Marie grinned, "The moment you described the exact shades of his hair, eyes, and skin, and the way your eyes filled with happiness just thinking about him just screamed that you were in love!"

I smiled awkwardly, embarrassed by my subconscious habit.

"Was it so obvious?" I asked.

"Absolutely!" she squeaked, clasping her hands together and gazing upwards dreamily, "Ahh! This makes the story of this search so much more amazing!"

…story…?

"My sister is a bit of a romantic," Pierre explained as he noticed my confusion, "She reads a lot of romance novels and likes all types of love stories. She's very interested in people's relationships, and yours sounds like just her kind of ideal."

"Why mine?"

"Yours is special, I can tell," Marie said, "Love comes in all shapes and forms, but I find yours especially beautiful. It makes me want to work twice as hard to help you find him…"

"H-Hey, I can help ask around too, if you want," Pierre told me, "I'm sure I can find out something. I'm usually pretty good about piecing information together."

Marie smiled at her brother happily, seeming proud of him.

"There you go!" she grinned, "See? You do have something in common!"

I looked at him as he blushed.

"You want to help me?" I asked.

He chuckled shamefacedly, tucking his hair behind his pierced ear.

"W-Well… I always did, but… it's different for me now," he said, "It's just… nice to finally meet a guy like me."

A guy like him…? Oh. He means…? Oh! Um… I don't want to break it to him, and I don't really want to try starting this debate about the fact that I'm asexual and just happen to be in love with another guy. It's more trouble than it's worth… I guess I'll just run with it.

"You've never met anyone?" I asked.

Pierre chuckled wryly.

"Well," he said, "No one open, at least…"

"Pierre's comfortable with who he is, and that's all that matters," Marie spoke up with a smile.

I smiled up at him.

"That's true," I said, "It shows maturity."

Pierre blushed, looking down.

"Well… maybe, but…" he murmured modestly, then looking back at me, "Hey… um… what is that?"

Realizing he referred to what I held in my hand, I looked down at it habitually. I'd nearly forgotten all about it.

"Oh! This is, uh, a journal that Bebe gave me the Christmas before he left Japan," I said, "He made the cover for it and customized it."

Pierre smiled warmly, and I immediately saw the resemblance to his sister's.

"Is that so?" he asked, "The craftsmanship is beautiful. I can see why he would choose this academy."

"What do you use it for?" Marie asked.

"I wrote about the time I spent with him," I told her, "In a way… I guess it's like our love story."

Her face lit up excitedly, yet she seemed shy.

"Do you mind if I take a look?" she asked.

…oh… God. I… I don't know what to say. No one has ever laid eyes on this besides me. This isn't just a story regarding our intimate times; it's also a story about the hardships… namely, the fight against the Shadows and the powers of our Personae. She'll think I'm insane… I can't really afford to lose the only help I have.

Before I could respond, she picked it up and placed it in her lap.

"M-Marie! Don't just take things without permission!" Pierre scolded.

She had already flipped to a random page in the middle. Crap! But as she opened it up to the text, I found myself able to breathe at the sight of it.

"Oh," she said, sort of disappointed, "It's in Japanese. I guess I can't read it anyway."

After briefly flipping through the remainder of the pages, she closed the journal and handed it back it me sort of sadly.

"I really wish I could read it," she said, "It looks like you spent a lot of time working on it. I can tell you were pouring out your heart."

I chuckled.

"Well… there are still things that you might not understand… I can hardly understand them myself, really," I told her.

"But he would understand them… right?" Pierre asked, "Do you plan on letting him read it?"

"I… hadn't really thought about it, but… I suppose I would," I said, "I mean, it is his story too. I wrote it in hopes that it would reach him someday."

Marie stood up quickly, a zealous glint in her eyes.

"Well! It's not going to reach him if we just sit around here!" she announced, "Let's start looking! We can show you all the hot spots of Rěvefutur Academy. I'll bet we can find him somewhere around there!"

"You really think so?" I asked.

"Sure! Everyone hangs out in certain places in the school. He probably has to at least pass through them!"

"Yeah, our best bet is most likely somewhere like the new Student Union," Pierre said, "Lots of students hang out there between classes. If not, we can always check the library, the classrooms, and the auditorium. I'll be sure to ask around when I go back to the dormitory as well."

These two, even though they barely knew me, were already to do whatever it took to help me find someone they didn't even know. Though I had had my doubts about searching this academy when the others refused to help, I had found the best help I could ask for. And they were on-campus twenty-four seven. This… really might go smoother than I expected.

I stood up with the journal in hand, ready to start again with new friends.

* * *

The day went by surprisingly fast. Though we remained unsuccessful in locating Bebe, I had been introduced to several places that would be best to check. The Student Union was a bustling place, filled with several interesting places to go and many different activities to partake in. I could see Bebe coming here just to blend in with a crowd or even to just enjoy a shop for a moment. Then again, maybe the place was too crowded for someone of Bebe's nature. After reading the letters he sent to Yukari, he seemed like someone who wouldn't try to be terribly social for awhile.

After checking the library and a few classrooms, Marie and Pierre had to leave for their evening classes. It was a shame, but it was starting to get dark out. I would have to head back to the hotel soon anyway. The twins walked ahead of me, leading me back toward the entrance of the school on the way to their class. Marie's eyes were cast upon her feet in disappointment.

"You're sure you didn't see him…?" she asked.

"I would know him if I saw him," I told her again, "He wasn't anywhere."

She sighed and held her arms together.

"Tetsuya, I'm so sorry… I really want to find him…" she said quietly.

"There's still a chance we can find him from the students in the dormitories," Pierre reminded us, "I don't think there's a person in this school that the seniors don't know. Perhaps I can find out something from my roommate."

"My roommate is a gossip," said Marie, "She can probably tell me something about a boy named Bebe. At least, as long as he still goes by that nickname. Maybe we should both yell out really loud in the middle of class 'BEBE!' and if a boy looks at us, we'll know!"

Pierre looked over at her slowly, mortified by her peppy nature.

"Marie, if we just yell out in class like that, EVERYONE is going to look at us," he muttered.

"And we can get everyone's attention that way!"

I smiled, thankful for the two of them.

"Thank you both so much for everything today," I said, "I would have never been able to do all this on my own. I'm glad I have someone who knows the school."

Marie looked back at me.

"There is no need for thanks," she said, "We're happy to help you in any way that we can offer. I just… I hope that we'll be enough."

"You're more than enough," I assured her, "We made more progress today than I did yesterday, thanks to you."

"Well… hopefully, we can have some better information ready for you by morning," Pierre said, "We don't have morning classes, so you could meet with us then. Is nine o' clock in the Student Union okay?"

"That sounds good to me," I said.

Pierre stopped and dug into his pocket, pulling out a cell phone.

"I think it would be best if we exchanged contact information," he said.

"Oh!" Marie exclaimed, withdrawing her own cell from her bag, "Good idea, Pierre! This way we can text Tetsuya any updates!"

We swapped numbers, saving them into each other's contacts for future reference. I could still get help from them tomorrow and even after that if it takes that long.

As I saved Pierre's number into my phone, a sweet and familiar scent wafted by my nose with the wind. It smells like spring in Japan… Where is it coming from…? I looked up and turned my head against the breeze. Enclosed in a large square was a grassy patch in full bloom. A prosperous cherry-blossom tree grew in the far corner, casting its petals to the roots. A few stone tables and seats were placed around, as if once used to seat students who wanted to enjoy a meal in the beauty of the square.

Strange emotions stirred inside my chest. Something that said… I belonged there…

"Tetsuya? Is something wrong?" Marie asked.

"This place… I've seen it before…" I said softly.

Both of them looked back at it.

"Oh," said Pierre, "The old courtyard? That's the foundation of the academy. The school legend is that a star once fell from the heavens and blessed the land with such of beauty. Personally, I believe the landscapers just did an exceedingly fine job, but a personal opinion aside, the courtyard is the last remaining spot of land left."

"Weren't there rumors about building over it?" Marie asked, "The students wanted a way to clear out the Student Union some and have another place to stay."

"I hope that doesn't happen," Pierre said, "Even if the area has seemed… a little more barren than it has been over the years… it's the trademark of Rěvefutur…"

I continued to gaze upon it quietly, disturbed by the tossing emotions in my stomach. It was beautiful, and yet it terrified me… I loved it, and yet…

…

Never mind. I should just go.

We continued walking until I could find my way back, bidding my farewells to the twins for the night.

* * *

"There you are," Junpei said as I stepped into the room, "I was wondering when you'd be back. How'd everything go?"

"Everything was fine, no thanks to you, lazyass," I hissed.

"Hey, hey," Junpei said, holding his hands up, "I'm really sorry about this morning, okay? But it's not like I sat on my ass all day. I actually went to the academy this afternoon and looked for a few hours. I didn't see you around, so I figured you'd found something else. Did you?"

I sighed and placed my journal on the table, trudging to the bed wearily and flopping down on my back.

"Sort of," I said, "You remember the two students from yesterday? The ones who talked to us before we left?"

"Yeah, I remember 'em."

"Well, I saw them again, and they were able to help me get a better look at the inside of the school. We've got their eyes now as well."

Junpei smiled.

"Man, you just make friends everywhere," he said, "It's great that we've got more people on our side."

"Yeah…" I said, "I just hope that we're looking in the right places…"

"We are," Junpei said, "Just give it some time."

I let out a bitter chuckle.

"That's easy for you to say… you're not the one dealing with growing pains and the fear that the one you're looking for might be dead or in the arms of someone else…" I sighed.

He had nothing to say to that for a long time. Slowly, he lowered himself down to lie down on his own bed.

"I'm sorry, Tetsuya…" he said softly.

I looked over at him, realizing from the guilt in his eyes that he was sincere.

"It's okay… you'll always be my best friend, no matter what," I said, "But… just promise me something…"

"Okay…?"

"Don't stay up with me anymore. No matter how much pain I'm in."

He stared at me for a long time, obviously opposed to the idea that I was telling him not to help me fight through my pain. Reluctantly, he agreed. That night, true to his word, he slept through the night as I found myself in another fit of pain.


	5. Endless Path

**Rendezvous**

**Chapter Four – ****Endless Path**

The return to the academy was already far better than it had been yesterday. For one, Yukari was up on her feet again and ready to help search for Bebe, automatically making Aigis available to assist us. Having had a full night's rest, Junpei had woken up before me and was ready to go when he woke me up at eight-thirty. I, on the other hand, was managing the day with a measly three hours. No matter. I made sure to jack myself up on coffee at breakfast this morning. I just have to hope that it'll sustain my alertness long enough to get me through the day.

At the entrance, Yukari suggested that we split up and search different buildings. Aigis would be checking around the buildings in the north; Junpei would search the buildings in the southern part of the campus; Yukari would check the buildings on the west and east; I would check the center of the campus and wherever else Marie and Pierre suggested. Everyone agreed that the plan was good. We were covering the entire campus, so there was no way we wouldn't find him. If he is here, we will find him…

I left the sides of my friends and headed directly for the Student Union to meet up with Marie and Pierre. Today, the surrounding students don't seem to be avoiding me, but I think it's best if I don't push anything. Besides, I've got two friends inside the school already. I can count on them just fine.

I pulled the door open and walked inside the large hall, scanning faces in search of the two I was looking for. As promised, they sat together in the center of the lobby, holding large plastic bags with hangers. Marie spotted me first, jumping to her feet and waving about spastically to get my attention, though she already had it. Actually, she had more than just my attention.

Keeping my head down, I went to their location promptly. Marie bounced around excitedly like a child on Christmas morning.

"Good morning, Tetsuya!" she singsonged, "It's the start of a brand new day!"

I chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"You're so full of energy for nine in the morning," I laughed.

"Yes, well, she loaded up on almost an entire pot of coffee this morning so she would have the energy to explore the entire campus," Pierre mumbled, smiling through his embarrassment, "That combined with her natural energy and the fact that she's a morning person make her a little over the top."

"I'm not over the top!" Marie retorted loudly, "In the name of love, I shall not rest until we've covered every square inch of this school! We're going to find Bebe today! No breaks!"

She continued to bounce, her face suddenly contorted into a look of either determination or discomfort. Pierre smiled smugly.

"You have to pee don't you?" he asked.

She hesitated a moment before thrusting her bag upon Pierre.

"Just a minute!" she blurted, making three words sound more like one.

Before we could say anything else, she was already halfway across the lobby and heading towards the women's restroom at light speed.

Pierre chuckled.

"She's insane," he laughed, "But her heart's in the right place. She texted me at least five times in the middle of the night with suggestions on who Bebe might be. She really can't stop thinking about finding him for you."

I smiled up at him.

"I really appreciate it," I told him.

He blushed and his blue eyes fell to the floor again.

"T-To be honest… I'm just as eager to get you back together. I just show it a little differently than she does. From my perspective… love is hard to find in the first place. If there's any way I can help you to find it again, I want to…"

I continued to smile, though a little more touched by his words than I had been before. He really did seem to want to help, even if he wasn't as energetic about it as his sister. Then again, he was probably used to trying to divert attention from him. Pierre seemed more like a behind-the-scenes kind of investigator, which often proved to be more effective than what the rest of us were doing. Speaking of which…

"Did you ask around the dorm last night?" I asked him.

He nodded.

"Yes. I didn't really find much, but some of the guys suggested checking in some of the more specialized classrooms or in the Vocational Hall. We do have some Japanese classes that he might be taking part in. I asked about any students who studied abroad, but there have actually been a large number of French exchange students who studied in Japan. Did he ever mention which middle school or high school he used to attend?"

Sadly, I shook my head.

"No…" I responded, "Actually… he didn't really talk about France that much. He really loved Japan, and he was much happier there. I get the impression he didn't have a lot of friends before me."

Pierre blushed more.

"What was it like…?" he asked softly.

"What was what like?"

"…having a relationship with someone. Bebe was… obviously special and close to your heart, or else you wouldn't have come all this way to find him… What was it like to have someone… accept you and… love you back?"

Oh, so this was a personal question for him… He did say that he hadn't met anyone open, so my relationship was probably fascinating to him. I guess it wouldn't hurt to let him in a little, that way he could have an idea of what our relationship really was and why I was so desperate to make it happen again.

"Having Bebe by my side… became more of a need than just a desire," I told him, "Being in love is like being in an entirely new world. You start to see things differently, and you grow to appreciate the trivial things that others don't see… You start to cherish their smile and embrace their warmth, listening to their voice intently just for the sake of hearing it. When Bebe would confide in me, I felt like my life was a part of his. My heart felt… connected to him."

Pierre listened silently, gazing upon me with gentle eyes as he was drawn. It really must have been his first time hearing about any of this.

"How did you feel… when you realized that you were in love with him?" he asked, "Were you… scared? You know, of… being different?"

I shook my head, able to answer without hesitation.

"No… sexuality was never anything that occurred to me to begin with. He was all that mattered."

Marie returned from the bathroom, relieved and refreshed.

"All better!" she announced, "Shall we head off? Oh, I suppose we need to drop these off before ten."

She took her bag back from Pierre, drooping it limply over her arms.

"Do you mind if we make a stop?" she asked me, "We have to turn these in before our evening classes. We have to do a presentation tonight, and the models need them before then."

"That's fine," I said, "We can check the classrooms in that area anyway."

Marie smiled pleasantly and led the way. Once we were out of the Student Union, the jostling of the bags seemed noisier than before. I couldn't ignore my curiosity any longer.

"What's in the bags?" I asked.

"Our latest projects for our portfolios," Marie replied, "It's an exam grade. Each month, we have to present our fashions to a panel and we receive a grade based on presentation, design, and creativity. The professors usually come up with themes for the shows, and this was a pleasant project. I love spring dresses. The models always make them seem even more beautiful."

"Who does the modeling?" I asked.

"Anyone who has time that we pick," Pierre responded, "I mean, it can't just be a random person off the street for safety reasons, but they don't have to attend the school. Marie and I usually model for each other, but we've decided to stay away from that in order to broaden our creativity and appeal to our interests."

"Pierre never let me put bows on anything," Marie pouted, kicking up her leg to show me the bows on her shoes.

"I'm not wearing bows," he argued, "Did you ever see the looks I would get? Nothing screams homosexual quite like bows and flowers."

Marie looked up at me with a sarcastic smile.

"Pierre prefers more elegant designs. I like fun and self-expressive things myself," she explained.

"Prunet!"

A voice called from behind and the twins both turned around. I looked back as well to see a professor approaching with a handful of what appeared to be artificial flowers. He held them out to Marie.

"You dropped these," he said, "Make sure you sew them back on properly."

"O-Oh! Thank you so much!" she stammered, embarrassed.

As he walked away, I looked at the bottom of her bag, noticing a daisy drop to the ground.

"Oh no!" she cried, "I thought I had sewn them tight! Why is it falling apart?"

"Try using glue," Pierre said.

"No! Your sequins always fall off!" she whined, "If the glue can't support that, it won't support these!"

Pierre sighed, evidently offended that she had announced one of his flaws.

"Well, you'd better find a way to secure them before tonight," he said, "If as much as a petal falls to the floor, you'll be marked down."

Marie sighed, stressed out.

"Just great. I don't have time for this…" she whined, "We have to go look for Bebe…"

"Well, let's get it fixed and then we can head out," Pierre said, then looking at me, "This shouldn't lose us too much time. We'll fix it quickly."

"That's fine," I said, "Maybe I can help."

Without much else to say, we hurried to the classroom to restore the dress to its original state. Along the way, as various flowers dropped, I would stoop to pick them up. Once we got to the classroom, Marie rushed it to a manikin and threw it over the body-shape. The dress was a rosy pink, layered and airy. The flowers had fallen from the single strap of the dress, leaving behind only the sad dangling loops of thread that had held them on. I handed Marie the fallen flowers, and she began trying to strategize.

"I can try re-stitching them on…" she muttered, apprehensive.

"That didn't work for you the first time. Try something different," Pierre told her, "Like an adhesive."

"I'm not using glue. Stop it."

"I'm just saying it will probably be more trustworthy than the stitches."

"More trustworthy my foot!" she retorted, taking a daisy and holding up a needle and thread to begin re-stitching. Before she made another movement, she froze, staring at her hands, which trembled violently. Good Lord, she's still really jittery…

I examined the bear patch on the strap, noticing the way the loops went. It was a pretty poor stitching job, despite such gorgeous craftsmanship on the dress. She really didn't know how to get these flowers to stay. But… it's such an easy fix…

"Let me try stitching them," I said, "Tell me how the flowers were on."

Hesitantly, she allowed me to take over, pointing where the daisies went and where each tiny rose was intended. With a needle and thread, I slowly cross-stitched around each tiny stem, looping and stitching again to fasten them in place. I guess it's a good thing that I learned something in Fashion Club aside from how Bebe loved to be kissed, held, and touched.

After securing the last flower, I ran my hand over them with a bit of pressure, assuring that I had done my job. Marie let out a soft gasp as they all stayed in place.

"Amazing!" she cried, "You got them to stay on!

Pierre had also leaned in, watching intently as I had gone to work.

"That's a really impressive technique…" he said, in complete awe, "Almost professional, even. Where did you learn to sew like that?"

"It was something Bebe taught me when I was still in Fashion Club with him," I him, "He was really good at sewing, but I guess I didn't realize that was anything particularly special…"

"Are you kidding? That's genius!" Marie exclaimed, gazing back at the stitches and studying them, "That really didn't take much time at all… No wonder the academy would accept him; he really knew what he was doing… If only I'd known how to do something like this sooner…"

Pierre chuckled.

"Would've helped in high school…" he said.

Marie looked at him quickly.

"The contest, right? I was thinking the same thing!" she cried, "A technique like this would have put us in first!"

"You guys didn't win?" I asked, "That's too bad…"

Marie chuckled.

"That's kind of a dark story for us, really," she said, "We had to compete against each other, and things got pretty ugly. There was a lot of tension in our house for weeks as we fought over whose technique was better. When we finally presented our projects, it was a complete disaster: Pierre's sequins fell off on the stage, and then one of my bows unraveled. In the end, we were both disqualified, and first place went to a boy from our class. When we look back at it now, it seems so silly."

Pierre smiled, embarrassed, but having fun anyway.

"We don't usually fight quite that way, so our big-talk was weak and unconvincing. At the time, it felt so serious and irritating, but I just laugh when I think about it now," he grinned, the a little more serious though the smile didn't fade, "Even if it hadn't been for our mistakes, we would have lost anyway. Neither of us were a match for the one who took the prize."

"It was an amazing piece of work," Marie told me, her eyes sparkling as she envisioned it once again, "And he gave it such an exotic and mysterious name… The funny part is that he was a fairly new student at the time. He just came in at the beginning of the year, so shy and withdrawn, and then he put together something magnificent! I really wish I had said something to him, but I hardly ever saw him after that… I don't even remember his name, really…"

"I seem to remember his last name was… Gerard… or… Geraux, I think," Pierre said pensively.

"Oh, that's right," Marie responded with a smile, "…Andre Geraux, wasn't it? He was awfully cute. I wonder where he went off to?"

"I heard he ended up going to a community college."

"What? With his talent? What a waste!"

"Well, it was his choice… maybe he didn't enjoy what he was doing."

"Still…"

I didn't want to interrupt, but I couldn't help feeling that we were losing valuable time reminiscing over high school days. Luckily, before I could speak up, Marie recognized that I was getting anxious and suggested that we head out again. She thanked me for my help, assisted Pierre in setting up his design upon a manikin, and we were off again.

They both showed me around other places in the school where students often gathered, such as the cafeteria and auditoriums. We ended up re-checking places like the library, just in case he was there. Still no luck. I texted each of my other friends to check their progress, and they had found nothing either.

"Don't get discouraged, Tetsuya," Marie told me as I let out a sigh, "We'll find him soon. You have three others in on this, so it shouldn't take longer than a few days."

But that didn't make me feel better at all. A few days felt like an eternity, and I needed to know where Bebe was immediately. Pierre looked back at me, realizing I was in distress.

"Hey, are you okay? Should we slow down?" he asked.

"No, let's keep going. I'll be fine…" I muttered.

"You look tired," he said, "Is it the jetlag?"

"That and a billion other things. I only slept for three hours. The only reason I'm conscious right now is thanks to caffeine."

"Same here!" Marie announced loudly, catching a few glances from passing students, "But I'm not tired at all!"

She hoisted herself up on a bench, looking around the surrounding area carefully.

"Anybody here look like Bebe?" she asked.

I looked, but I didn't see anyone, much to my dismay.

"No…"

With a groan, she folded her arms. She turned on her heel, looking over at me demandingly.

"Okay! Next set of hints!" she announced, "What sorts of things did you like to do with each other? Maybe he still does them for old time's sake. We have lots of clubs and student organizations that appeal to various interests, so we can start checking there. Was he a fan of manga, by any chance?"

"W-Well, he liked it okay, but he was more interested in other things. We had a sweets shop where he liked to eat, we used to be part of the Fashion Club, we would do origami, and we went to movies together. …he liked the books stores, the fabric store, accessory stores…"

Marie thought over the information thoroughly, frowning.

"Jeez… this is hard…" she sighed, "Those sound like things that a lot of people are interested in… I mean, we can check outside the school this weekend if we have to, but there are so many places focused on those interests. The department store has all of that, so we can go on Saturday if we haven't found Bebe by then."

"But we need to find him sooner than that!" I blurted, "I have to know if he's still waiting for me, or if he's even alive!"

Both twins looked at me suddenly, alarmed by my troubled cry. Embarrassed, I shot my eyes to the ground, watching my feet just to avoid the stares.

"…alive…? Why wouldn't he be… alive?" Marie croaked.

"You think he's one of the coma victims…?" Pierre asked.

I've said too much… how can I possibly explain this in a way that's easy to understand, but still sound reasonably sane?

"Bebe… um… doesn't know that I'm alive…" I told them, "I, uh… got myself into a bit of a mess after he left Japan and… nobody thought I had survived. I didn't… find out that he thought I was dead until last week… that's why… I waited so long."

Horror fell over both of their faces, trying to understand what I was telling them.

"W-What about him…?" Marie asked, "Why would he be dead…?"

"Because he stopped responding to my friend's calls and letters last year," I told them, "We found out that he had run away from home, but… Bebe held me as a priority. He felt responsible for what happened to me… I know that… if he died, I wouldn't want to go on living. I'm worried that he felt the same way…"

Pierre covered his face with his hands.

"Oh, God… you've got to be kidding…" he croaked.

"And… if he's still alive, I can't help but wonder if he didn't want to live on alone," I said, "I wonder if… he found someone else to replace me."

"Stop that right now, you!"

I jumped as Marie yelled at me, pointing her finger at me scoldingly.

"If I know Bebe the way you described him to me, he would never replace you in a million years! If his eyes still light up the way yours do when you imagine his face or if he still keeps mementos of you like the journal; if he loves you like you love him, he will not move on to another so easily! Did you guys sleep together?"

My face exploded with heat, and Pierre's reaction mimicked mine, even choking on spit. Girls all around instantly stared at me, some glaring at me as a pervert.

"Marie, that's WAY too personal!" Pierre barked.

"Seriously!" I cried.

"Just tell me!"

"Wha-? I'm not telling you that in public!"

"Answer the question or I'll shout louder!"

"I will not!"

"DID YOU OR DID YOU NOT HAVE SEX WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND?"

"Okay! Okay!" I hissed, keeping my voice down, "We made love once!"

Briefly, Marie smiled.

"Aw, he called it 'making love'," she grinned, then serious and angry again, "And was he your first?"

"Marie-?"

"WERE YOU A VIRGIN WHEN YOU-"

"Yes! I was a virgin!"

"And was he?"

"That's not my business to-"

"WAS ANOTHER MAN IN THERE BEFORE-"

"He was a virgin! For the love of God, Marie! Stop screaming this for the entire academy to hear!" I yelled, my face burning even more intensely than it did when I had actually made love with Bebe.

At the point, the crowd around us was greatly disturbed by what they were hearing thanks to Marie's public announcement. Although, at least the girls seemed to understand that my interests didn't lie with them. The guys, however, cleared out faster than the girls did. I covered my red face in embarrassment peeking through my fingers to glare at Marie angrily.

"Then Bebe isn't going to easily just move on from the one he lost his innocence to!" she went on, "No one forgets the first person they made love to! He won't throw himself into the arms of another after only a few years! So you'd better keep your head up high and put a little faith into your lover!"

Pierre stared at her disbelievingly, his jaw dropped wide open in complete mortification.

"Marie… you… are the devil," he muttered, "I am… never… going to get a boyfriend if you're going to do that… I seriously don't believe that we're related right now…"

"Tetsuya was losing faith, and I wasn't going to let him. You're a stubborn one, you are," she said.

"Because I wasn't telling you about my sex life? What the hell? How would you feel if I asked you about yours in front of everyone?"

"Nothing to tell! I'm a virgin!" she announced carelessly; a few sleazy-looking boys looked at her upon her broadcast.

Pierre slapped his palm against his face, running it down slowly to stretch the skin down.

"I'm banning you from the coffee pot. Permanently," he groaned.

Though it was sort of (who am I kidding? It was EXTREMELY) harsh, Marie had definitely saved me from slipping. She had a point; I couldn't forget who I was talking about. Even back then, Bebe was completely unaware that Ryoji was deeply in love with him. He always kept his eyes on me… he wouldn't just fall for someone else. They had to be special to him… like I was. …still, I think Marie could have made a point without announcing my sexual status to half the student body.

She leapt from the bench, landing on both feet simultaneously and smoothing out her skirt as it fell with gravity.

"Well then," she said in a business-like manner, as if she hadn't just publically humiliated me, "I was sort of hoping I might catch Bebe's attention that way, but seeing that no one came forward, I suppose all that's left is to move on."

"…I don't think anyone would have come forward," Pierre muttered, embarrassed as I was.

Marie was already moving on without us, so we had to quicken our pace to catch up to her. As we hurried, we passed the courtyard again. Still as beautiful as it was last night… I didn't have time to look at it any longer, but the sight of it lingered in my memory. After all, it wasn't something that could easily leave my mind…

* * *

By the time Pierre and Marie had to go to class, my other friends had already finished looking around and were texting me to meet them by the entrance. We said our goodbyes and I made my way to the front. The three of them stood out as they huddled closely in a group. When I called out to them, they faced me with sorrowful eyes.

The air around them was filled with dejection and pity. Of all of them, Aigis appeared the most upset. I could guess why immediately.

"Nothing?" I asked.

"No…" she said softly, "We looked everywhere…"

Junpei fiddled with the rim of his hat, sighing.

"Man, I would have thought we'd be at least a little closer," he said, "I mean, we've already checked the entire school. We found some weird stuff, though. There are all these guys around the campus, just creepin' in little corners and on the roofs."

"Yeah… Marie told me about them…" I said quietly.

Yukari looked at me.

"You didn't find anything either?" she asked.

I shook my head, looking down at my feet. With a sigh, she faced the others.

"Well… are we ready to call it a day…?" she asked.

They hesitated before looking to me. I was still in charge of this mission, which was comforting to know. Regardless… I don't feel like continuing the search will do us any good…

"Yeah…" I responded, "Let's go…"

* * *

Shortly after I had managed to fall asleep around five in the morning, a vivid dream began to enter my mind once again. This time, I stood alone in the center of the courtyard. Ryoji and Bebe were nowhere to be seen… what did this mean…? I stood below the tree, staring up at the petals as they slowly fell to the ground. A petal fell in front of my face, and I held out my hand to let it rest in my palm. I realized after looking at it closely that it something was amiss… the petal was rotting… Is… this tree… dying…?

Everything faded into blackness, though this time I wasn't dying. I stood upon a blue-tiled floor, a single spotlight cast upon the spot where I stood. Before me was a door, slightly cracked open. Curiously, I curled my fingers around the doorknob and opened it to four smiling faces. Ah… here I am again.

"Welcome," said Igor simply, "Do come in and have a seat."

As I was told, I entered the Velvet Room and sat in the seat across from Igor, looking up at the three white-haired siblings who stood around me. Elizabeth smiled charmingly as always; Margaret remained a bit more reserved, as she had been last time; Theo's manner still neutral as he wasn't sure how to feel about me.

"You look quite different since your last visit. I hardly recognized you," he said awkwardly.

"You've grown exceptionally," Elizabeth remarked, "Your appearance matches your maturity… And quite a handsome level, at that."

Igor ignored her flirtatious attempt and gestured toward the window.

"Take a look outside," he said, "Tell me what you see."

Obediently, I peeked out the small window to my left, staring down into an ocean of grey clouds. As far as my eyes can see, there's nothing but grey… The clouds move past slowly, but only to reveal a monotonous tone. What an empty world in the sky…

I looked back at Igor, confused.

"Grey clouds," I said.

He nodded, and waited for me to speak again. There's something more…? I looked back outside, only to see nothing more than grey clouds. What else did he want from me?

"Nothing else…" I muttered.

"In which direction are we moving?" Igor asked.

What the hell is this? Twenty questions?

"…I dunno. North?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow and I suddenly understood that it was a trick question.

"We aren't moving. The clouds are."

He smiled approvingly at me, nodding but once.

"Indeed. Now… where are we headed…?"

How the hell was I supposed to know? It couldn't possibly be "we aren't" could it? I thought to try the response, but it didn't seem correct. None of this makes sense.

"I don't know," I said, giving up.

Igor smiled again. Seriously?

"Precisely," he responded, "You don't know. You're on a path without end, and you're giving up when you're not even there. At least, it seems that way."

He pointed his abnormally long nose at the table, staring into a spread of Tarot cards faced down. He placed his hand on one and lifted it, showing it to me. On the grey card was a man with a dog, marching forward carelessly.

"The upright Fool," he said, "Meaning that your journey is yours and yours alone. It is what you make it; it is not for others to decide. Listen to what your instinct tells you, and you will find the right path."

He picked up another card, facing it toward me. A colorful little card with four different squares and small designs was printed on its face, but Igor held this face upside down.

"Reversed Temperance," he went on, "Says that your journey is at a standstill. You're trying to force your way out of it, but it has only brought you disappointment and stress. Give it time. Have patience and let it work itself out."

He replaced the cards, smiling at me calmly.

"Do you understand what I'm saying to you?" he asked.

I thought over his words thoroughly, though I was fairly sure I knew what he meant. I was going nowhere. But the journey was… mine…? Did this mean… I had to go alone?

No… he meant exactly what he said. Finding Bebe is my own goal, and not anyone else's. If they feel discouraged, then that's on them. I have to move on in spite of that, even if it means going alone. Because I've been letting my failure get the best of me, I've let myself get tangled in doubt. I dreamt about Bebe kissing Ryoji because it was what I feared, not what I believed. I can't let myself fall. I made a promise. As long as I take it slow, I will get to where I need to be… To put it simply…

"Have faith…"

Igor smiled.

"It seems to me that you've found your direction."

A whirring came from the wings, and the clouds began to move faster. We were moving forward.


	6. New Directions

**Rendezvous**

**Chapter Five – ****New Directions**

When I opened my eyes, something about the way the sun shone in the room disturbed me. It was different than it had been when I had woken up the previous mornings… why should this be any different? I sat up, feeling oddly refreshed for once, yet still tired. The Velvet Room never made me feel this good; in fact, it often made me even more fatigued. What was going on?

I looked over at Junpei's bed, startled when I realized he wasn't there. He got up before me? How strange. I'm surprised he didn't wake me up… …what is today…? Checking the face of my watch, I noticed that "Fri" was highlighted and the date beside it was 4/4. April 4th… Today… Today is…

My eyes fell to the time as I remembered. When my brain processed the numbers, I felt my stomach sink. 4:30? Obviously, it couldn't be A.M.! Please tell me the clock is broken! Please tell me it's wrong! Without wasting another second, I flipped off the covers and sped through my morning routine, having to fix my shirt once as I put it on backwards in my rush. Stupidly, I tried to rush out the door without the card key, which I remembered in time to grab the door before it shut. After snatching it up, I went next door and pounded on the door. Dammit, guys. What the hell?

After three rounds of knocking and no answer, I took the elevator to the bottom floor and found the three of them in the lobby. Yukari noticed me as I stepped out, glaring at them angrily.

"Oh, crap…" she muttered as I approached.

"I told you…" Junpei muttered.

"Hey! You guys want to explain to me what the hell you were thinking?" I barked, "It's four thirty in the afternoon! Marie and Pierre have an hour until their evening classes! Over half the day is gone and I have barely any time to go look for him! Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Pardon me, sir," said the concierge timidly, "I must ask you to keep your voice down. You're disturbing the other guests…"

I looked at him sheepishly.

"S-Sorry," I muttered, then turning back to my friends with a hushed tone, "Why wouldn't you wake me up? I can see letting me sleep until noon, but four-thirty?"

"It was Aigis' idea," Junpei blurted, throwing her under the bus immediately.

"Thank you for that," she muttered, glaring in his direction briefly before returning her gaze to mine.

"Tetsuya, I've been watching you in the evenings. You're tired and you aren't eating. Junpei told me you didn't fall asleep until five thirty this morning," she said, "And I want you to realize that you actually slept for nearly twelve hours. You needed to rest, and we let you."

"Dammit, Aigis, I don't give a damn about myself!" I barked, "We didn't just fly across the ocean for a vacation! I'm here because I need to make sure Bebe's okay!"

"Look, if he even is here, then he's not going anywhere!" Yukari barked, stepping between us, "You're behaving like a stubborn child! You have to take a break once in awhile, you know! And for the record, this has been anything but a vacation! While you were asleep, we left you here and split up around the city to look for him! Junpei even checked the academy! So stop yelling at us and just recognize for a minute that we aren't sitting around on our asses all day; we want to find Bebe alive too!"

As soon as it slipped out, she covered her mouth, backing away drastically. No… no, this isn't happening…

"…are you saying… you think he's dead too?" I asked.

I looked over at Junpei, trying to gauge an opinion from him as well. I got my answer when he diverted his eye contact.

"Look…" he said quietly, "We've searched all over town and we've checked the entire academy for three days. Checking and rechecking… it's… it's not looking good… the only reason I agreed to let you sleep was because I knew you would just get disappointed all over again when we came home with nothing again."

No. It's far too soon for us to give up. So what if we hadn't seen him in the three days we've been checking around? He could be anywhere in Nanparaux… Just because we hadn't found him yet didn't mean he was dead. We could be checking the wrong places at the wrong times… There was… still a chance…

Something snapped in my mind as I remembered my visit to the Velvet Room last night. This was my path and mine alone. I couldn't let what others thought discourage me from pursuing my path. We couldn't force the issue. Bebe would be found eventually… We had to be patient. We had to have faith…

I shook my head and turned away from them, heading for the door.

"T-Tetsuya? Where are you going?" Yukari asked.

"I'm going to look for him," I said.

"Tetsuya, I already checked the academy! He isn't there!" Junpei insisted.

"Yes, and I didn't. We haven't checked the night classes yet," I said, "Since I wasted away the day in sleep, I'm not going to waste the night."

"Tetsuya, don't-!" Aigis attempted, but I ignored her.

They can't stop me. If I want Bebe found, I have to keep trying. No matter how fruitless it is… no matter how many times I fail… I have to try harder. All good things to those who wait.

* * *

I returned to the academy alone, yet again. With Marie and Pierre in evening classes, I really would be forced to look for Bebe by myself. Hopefully, I still remember my way around; it seems like an easy place to get lost… The campus is unusually quiet, too. I guess it's due to the fact that evening classes are desired, but it feels strange to stand so alone. I feel like I'm trespassing.

In no particular hurry, I walked past each area of the school slowly, checking buildings and peeking into each classroom. Everything in the west building was practically abandoned, save for a few professors and a couple in romantic embrace. I walked on, embarrassed though they hadn't noticed my presence. As I peeked into the classroom at the end of the hallway, I recognized the student in front of a manikin, carefully sewing bows onto a child's dress. Or perhaps a dress for herself.

"Marie?" I asked, and she responded to her name.

"Oh, Tetsuya! You came!" she smiled.

I couldn't help but smile. The way her face lit up and even her words reminded me of when I first showed up to Fashion Club and Bebe was overjoyed just to be with another person…

"Look, I used the stitching technique you showed me," she said as I walked over closer. She swept her hand over the dress and one of the bows fell to the floor. With a sigh of disappointment, she picked it up again.

"Well… I tried to at least," she muttered, "I guess you'll have to show me again… After all, it kept the flowers on my dress in place for the entire show last night."

I chuckled as she handed me the bow, needle and thread. I went to work deftly, speaking with her at the same time.

"I thought you had evening classes," I said.

"I do, but not on Friday," she told me, "I was sort of surprised that I didn't see you this morning."

"Yeah, my friends kinda didn't wake me up… Where's Pierre?" I asked, "I've never seen you alone before."

"He's somewhere around campus," she said, and when I looked at her I realized her eyes were lined with tears.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She nodded, trying to blink away her tears.

"I just… I'm trying so hard to find Bebe for you. But… I can't find any boys… who go by that name… It's strange because it's such a common name, but… it really isn't on boys…" she croaked, "After what you told me yesterday… I'm so scared that I won't be able to help you find your happy ending… I'm so… so sorry…"

As she sniffled, my cheeks burned a little. It wasn't the same as it was with Bebe at all, but I knew that I was touched emotionally by her concern. She and Pierre had already helped so much, and I had placed my burden on their shoulders. I put the needle and thread down, embracing her.

"It's okay, Marie," I told her, "It's not your fault… if you can't find him, I don't want you to feel like you couldn't help me… You and your brother have already helped me more than you know…"

Her arms tightened around me.

"Tetsuya… we'll find him… I promise…" she said quietly.

I let go of her and smiled; she smiled back at me and wiped her tears away.

"We won't give up the search until you're back together," she said, "The school is a huge place. He has to be here somewhere…"

"Thank you, Marie," I said, "That really means a lot."

Just as Marie wiped away her last tear, Pierre walked into the classroom suddenly and anxiously. His face seemed to glisten a little, as if in a cold sweat and his movements were jerky, adding on to his excitable behavior. As he looked over in our direction and realized with a smile that I was present, he hurried over to us.

"Tetsuya," he said urgently, "What was it that you said Bebe liked to do?"

I was a little confused.

"Sew…?" I asked. Pierre seemed frustrated.

"Alright, yes, he attends a fashion school. I understand that much," he groaned, "I meant the other thing. It was… origami, correct?"

Something in my mind just clicked. He must know something… I leaned forward, curious.

"Yes…" I said, anxious for him to continue.

"Pierre, what's this all about?" Marie asked, "Have you found something?"

Pierre smiled, somewhat proud of himself.

"I think so," he said confidently, "I've… never seen him for myself, but… I think I've heard of him."

Oh my God. He knows. Unable to contain my excitement, I jolted a little.

"What? Tell me! Tell me what you know!" I exclaimed. Pierre grinned.

"I've heard rumors of a student that goes to the old courtyard every Friday about this time after his classes. He always sits alone at the table beneath the cherry blossom tree in the corner as he folds paper. From what others say, they look like little birds."

The paper cranes… it has to be. It has to be him. There's no doubt about it. He found him! He found Bebe! I threw my arms out and gave Pierre a squeeze.

"Thank you so much! I can never repay you!" I told him. He blushed awkwardly.

"N-Never mind that!" he stuttered, "You have to go!"

"Yes! Don't stay here! Go to him! Quickly!" Marie squealed, flailing excitably.

They didn't have to ask me twice. I took off as quickly as I could, darting around students in the hallways and outside. The stone path seems never-ending… why now? I have to see him again. I can't wait anymore. It's time. It's time for us to meet again.

I can't even decide how to approach him. Should I just walk up and announce myself? No. That's not any good. I can't take this lightly. What would be the perfect way to do it? Should I be romantic and take him in my arms? No, he thinks I'm dead. That might be overwhelming… I can't even think straight. I have to do whatever comes into my mind first. Only time will tell. With the courtyard in sight, the hour has come at long last. The moment of truth. I stopped by the entrance, peering inside hopefully for a glimpse of that beautiful face I had been searching for. And just like that, my breath was taken away… Pierre had hit right on the bull's-eye. There he was…

It's been so long since I've seen him, yet he hasn't changed much since I saw him last at the airport. He appears a little taller, like all of the people I had met with again. It seems that Bebe has lost a little weight, which I thought was physically impossible for him in the first place. Yet, his face still retains that youthful innocence and purity I'd long since fallen in love with. He's just as Pierre had said: sitting quietly in the dreamlike square on a bench underneath the cherry blossom tree in complete solitude, folding several tiny paper cranes with an expression that was sort of dead.

To my surprise, Bebe was wearing the coat I had given him upon his leaving with the long, fuzzy scarf I bought him wrapped snugly around his neck, despite the warm spring sun. His fingers worked dexterously with the folds of paper upon his lap. The cranes looked a lot better than they did when we folded ours together four years ago, maybe even better than mine.

The wind picked up a little from behind him and a shower of petals began to downpour. Hundreds of cranes took flight, scattering all over the area and mixing in with the petals. He looked helplessly at the haphazard birds, groaning painfully. Leaving the bench wearily, he got down on all fours to collect his crafts as the wind continued to scatter them.

A tiny light blue-grey crane landed by my feet. I bent down and held the small bird in my hands. I looked at my ring and then at the crane, smiling as I saw the resemblance. Such a sweetheart… Bebe gathered the paper cranes busily, oblivious to my presence. I see now… It's perfect…

I stood up again, walking to him slowly. He remained unaware that I was only a few feet away, but I preferred it that way. Once I felt like I was close enough, I knelt beside him, holding out the crane.

"I think you lost this," I said. Almost instantaneously, Bebe froze as he indentified the foreign language, and I assume he recognized my voice as well. He turned his head somewhat slowly, his eyes falling upon the crane in my hands and he froze again. Very, very slowly, his eyes widened as they went from my hands to my face. Hello, my beautiful baby blue…

I smiled, tears burning my eyes.

"It's been a long time, my angel…" I whispered. His jaw gaped slightly and he began to breathe a little heavier. He turned himself around to face me directly, his eyes never wavering. His hands rose to my face, gently touching the skin. As he ascertained that I was solid, he began caressing my cheeks and stroking my hair. I placed my hands on his waist, and a wave of realization swept over him as he finally found his voice.

"Tetsuya…?" he whispered, his hands and lip trembling.

"Hi, Bebe…" I whispered back, two tears escaping, "I'm home…"

Bebe's face poured out emotion, and he immediately burst into tears, burying his face against my neck as he threw his arms around me. He sobbed my name, nuzzling my neck and shoulder affectionately. My tears began to fall harder, and I let them as I held onto Bebe tightly. I never thought I would have this chance again…

"Thank you, Lord… thank you…" Bebe murmured into my shoulder in French, then pressing his lips firmly to mine, and I kissed him back passionately. How long it's been since I last felt these soft lips… They've become tenderer these past few loveless years… He pulled away from my lips to kiss my face all over.

"Eet's really you…" he said between kisses, "I can't believe eet's really you… I must be dreaming…"

"It's not a dream," I promised, "I'm here… I'm here to stay…"

He held my face against his breathlessly.

"Yukari-sama told me…" he croaked, "She told me zat you were dead… Junpei-sama, Akihiko-senpai, Mitsuru-senpai… all of zem said you were dead… zey said… somezing about a door… yet 'ere you are…?"

"I was dead…" I told him, "But they found me alive a couple of weeks ago… My soul was sacrificed to seal Nyx away, but Elizabeth found a way to bring me back. I came to find you as soon as I could… I couldn't really live on without you by my side."

"Arigatou, Elizabeth…" Bebe smiled, chuckling a little. He kissed my neck affectionately, whispering, "Oh, Tetsuya… I missed you so, my love… I never stopped zinking about you for a moment…"

"I missed you too, baby…" I said softly, pressing my lips to his hair again and again, "I haven't really felt alive until now… now that I'm here beside you once again… and my heart finally feels at home."

Bebe pressed his ear against my chest, sighing as he listened to my heartbeat.

"A most beautiful sound…" he cooed.

He peered up at me, sniffling a little. The sun danced in his irises as tears continued to fall from his eyes.

"I can't tell you… 'ow many times I prayed for you to come back…" he whispered, "And now zat you're 'ere… I don't ever want to let you go. My worst regret was ever leaving you… I promise I won't leave you again... I promise I won't leave you, sweet'eart…"

He sobbed into my shoulder.

"Just don't leave me again eizer… Stay wiz me… Please don't go… Onegaishimasu…"

I broke into soft sobs with him as I held him close to me.

"I'm not going to leave you ever again…" I promised, "I want to stay by you for the rest of my life… and even longer… I don't want to know another minute without you…"

"Tetsuya, I love you, mon chéri," Bebe said through sniffles as he nuzzled his face against my neck.

Oh, that phrase. It's been far too long since I've heard or said it. I was beginning to fear that I might never hear it again…

"Oh, Bebe, I love you too…"

The wind swept across the courtyard once again, stirring the petals and paper cranes to dance in circles. It could just be the euphoria of the moment, but everything around us feels so alive… almost as if this small patch of heaven has a life of its own. One of the stray birds found its way to us, sticking against our cheeks as the wind pushed it along.

In unison, we both loosened our hold on each other, looking at the interrupting crane with a chuckle.

"These silly things…" Bebe laughed, taking it into his left hand and wiping at his tears with his right.

"Here, let me help you," I chuckled, gathering a few of the cranes closest to me.

We crawled on all fours, collecting the tiny birds from around the courtyard, daring to occasionally glance at the other. It's incredible… in a way, it's almost like we were never away. Still so comfortable with each other and able to speak the same. Yet, I can see that there's something between us that wasn't there before. There was a look in his eyes that reflected in mine… He's really here… I can see him with my own two eyes and know it's him… after all this time of fearing the worst, it was more than just a relief to see him healthy and alive…

Bebe picked up a messenger bag from the table, holding it open as I dropped the cranes inside. He filled it with the cranes he had gathered and fastened the bag closed, adjusting the strap as he slipped it over his head, all the while keeping his eyes on mine. Taking only another moment to gaze at me silently, he wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly, holding on even tighter as I embraced him once more. I've had quite a few hugs since I came back, but… none quite like his.

"Eet's been 'ard getting zrough zese past four years," he whispered, "Nozing 'as been easy and zere were many zings I wanted to change… And yet… as long as I 'ad you by my side again, I would be perfectly content for ze rest of my life… Welcome 'ome, mon chéri…"

I smiled, nuzzling my face against his neck.

"I love you, Bebe…" I whispered, then in his ear, "Happy birthday."

He looked over at me, surprised.

"What…?" he asked.

"April 4th, isn't it?" I asked him, "Isn't that your birthday?"

After the initial shock, a smile slowly found its way to his face.

"You remembered…?" he asked, "I… I completely forgot. …heh… ze one time I forget my own birthday and eet turns out to be ze best one…"

I kissed him again, and he kissed back passionately, snuggling with me when we pulled away.

"Zere are so many zings I want to ask you… so many answers I need…" he whispered into my chest.

"Why don't we go somewhere and talk about what's been going on?" I asked, "There are a lot of things I want to ask you too…"

Bebe smiled up at me gently.

"Zat sounds great," he said, "I know a good place."

With my hand in his, Bebe led the way out of the courtyard and towards the front of the school, his head rested upon my shoulder. Every once in awhile, someone dares to glance at us, but I don't even mind… They're seeing that we're happy. What happened today was a miracle for both of us; people don't just come back to life, and rarely are we able to locate a single person in an unfamiliar country with very few hints about their location.

Though the walk through the city was silent, I didn't mind that we weren't speaking just yet. I needed to process all that was happening and organize my thoughts before asking questions and forgetting important things. Everything that still remained a mystery would be answered in a very short while and straight from the source for once. This time, everything was perfect…

We stopped in front of a small but fairly nice-looking restaurant, and Bebe told me that this was where he wanted to talk to me. It didn't seem particularly cheap, but I figured Bebe knew the place fairly well if he already had it in mind and agreed. There was no wait for seating and the waiter sat us at a small booth in the back.

"May I take drink orders?" he asked as we sat down.

"Yes. House wine, please," Bebe responded.

I looked at him abruptly, alarmed by his choice. What the hell-? He always ordered water or soda back in Japan- what the what?

"Tetsuya?" he asked, noticing I had not responded.

Without thinking properly, a single word slipped out.

"Same."

The waiter nodded and left the tableside. I stared at Bebe for a moment as he picked up his menu. It didn't take long for him to notice.

"What?" he asked, "Doushita no?"

"You… drink?" I asked hesitantly.

He startled at my query.

"N-No," he stammered, "Not really… an occasional glass of wine, per'aps, but not excessively… I've been doing zis since I was sixteen, but I couldn't in Japan because ze legal age was different."

I sighed, leaning my back against the cushion of the booth in relief. Thank God…

"Tetsuya…?" Bebe asked quietly, "Are you okay?"

I fidgeted awkwardly.

"Y-Yeah… I, um… I was just… It scared me a little is all…" I muttered.

"Tetsuya, if Uncle taught me anyzing, eet was zat alcohol eez a dangerous zing to be taken lightly. I've never been drunk," he assured me.

Aw, crap, he's taking it personally.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, "I'm just… I don't know how much you've changed. I would hope that you wouldn't have changed like that, but I still worry about you."

He smiled, withdrawing behind the menu only a little.

"I 'aven't changed as much as you zink… alzough… I am doing more on my own now," he said.

"Like running away from home?" I asked.

He stiffened, his eyes widening at the words. Slowly, he looked up from the menu and at me.

"'O-ow did you know…?" he asked.

"Yukari and Aigis talked to your uncle," I said, "They used the address from your letters found out from him. …why… why did you stop responding to Yukari's texts and letters? You really had everyone scared. Especially me… I feared the worst for you…"

Bebe sighed and placed the menu flat on the table, looking me dead in the eyes.

"I didn't 'ave a choice," he said, "Believe me, I wanted to keep talking to 'er. She's my friend as much as she eez yours, but I couldn't speak to her through mail anymore. I even 'ad to buy a new cell phone, and I forgot to transfer ze contacts in my rush. I was too focused on keeping my pictures, and I didn't remember until eet was too late to go back 'ome… My uncle 'as been keeping a close watch on the area. 'Aven't you seen ze strange men around ze Academy?"

The strange men… Yukari did say his uncle had men looking for Bebe. Were those the same guys? Jeez, he had the entire school on edge just because he couldn't let go.

"Those are his henchmen?" I asked, "I guess I didn't realize they were looking for you."

Bebe nodded.

"Luckily, Rěvefutur 'as a tight security system zat allows students to sign a slip permitting family into zeir personal schedules and grades. If 'e 'ad gotten 'is 'ands on zat, 'e would 'ave found me for sure… I know zey tried, because ze office informed me zat zey 'ave asked for my name multiple times."

I chuckled.

"I guess I lucked out," I said, "The first day I came here, I made an idiot of myself because I couldn't remember your real name. I just told them Bebe, and the lady gave me look."

He grinned.

"You never could get eet right," he laughed, "Shall I tell you again?"

"Please do," I laughed, "It would have saved me a heap of trouble."

"Say eet wiz me," he said, "Andre."

"Andre."

"Laurent."

"Laurent."

"Jean."

"Jean."

"Geraux."

…Andre Geraux… …oh my God. Are you freaking kidding me?

"Geraux," Bebe said again, thinking I was struggling.

I covered my face with embarrassment, groaning. Marie and Pierre knew who he was. He won that contest… …in fact, now that I think about it, I seem to remember Bebe telling me in one of those misplaced pages of his letter that he had won first prize in a contest. …aw, DAMMIT! And he named the piece after me! How the hell did I forget that? If I'd just remembered his name, I could have saved myself a lot of time. Then again… they said he went to a community college, so it would have thrown me way off. I may have even left to search the wrong school… But that was true… he was here because of a scholarship. His uncle forced his to go to a college closer to home before Bebe ran away.

"Tetsuya, eet's really not zat 'ard," Bebe chuckled, "Geraux."

"Bebe, I heard your name yesterday…" I mumbled, "And I had no idea…"

"From who?" Bebe asked, "I don't 'ave any friends 'ere. I never tried to make any."

"They were former classmates of yours in high school," I told him, "They were in the contest with you and they really admired you. Since day one, they've been helping me look for you. If I had known that they knew you, they would have actually known who they were looking for…"

The waiter stopped by to drop off the wine and some complimentary table water, nodding patiently as we said we needed awhile longer to decide on entrees. We both went back to our menus, not reading over the options particularly closely and picking something at random so we could quickly resume our conversation as soon as the waiter left.

"Why did you run away from home…?" I asked, "I heard your uncle thought it was out of nowhere…"

Bebe shook his head, his nose wrinkling irritably.

"Augh, no," he spat, disgusted, "Eet most certainly was not out of nowhere. I'd been planning eet for a long time…"

"What do you mean…?"

Bebe sighed, placing his elbow on the table to prop himself up as he put his hand to his forehead.

"At first… when I came back, Uncle was just 'appy to 'ave someone else in ze 'ouse. With my aunt passed away (God rest 'er soul) and me in Japan wiz you, 'e was at 'ome alone. I told you zat… one of ze reasons I didn't come back was to take care of 'im and 'elp 'im deal wiz ze loss of my aunt. As cold as 'e eez, 'e truly loved 'er… When I got ze first letter from Yukari-sama… 'e was zere to see ze way I reacted when I 'eard ze news about… what 'ad 'appened to you… Because I 'elped him wiz my aunt… 'e was kinder to me and attempted to 'elp me wiz my own loss… but… I wasn't getting any better."

He looked up at me, his eyes filled with tears of pain and dark memories. Things that I will never be able to see for myself, but that I can catch a glimpse of by staring into his eyes…

"I never… I never moved on ze way 'e did… and because eet was taking me so long, 'e began to grow impatient… By ze time I turned nineteen, 'e was sick of my constant moping and he struck me. I know 'e was drunk and wouldn't 'ave done eet sober, but… I didn't feel safe wiz 'im afterwards. I knew I 'ad to get away from 'im… I started saving money, 'oping zat I would be able to get away. Until zen, I attended which ever school 'e wanted me to and put on a façade to make 'im believe I was over you…"

"I won a scholarship for zis academy from a contest in ze community college… I wanted to go, but my uncle wanted me close to 'ome because 'e didn't want me to leave 'is sight. After trying to reason wiz 'im, and losing an argument, I kept quiet about zat too. Not long afterwards, I earned enough money from my part-time job to last me awhile. So zat night, I quietly left ze 'ouse and took ze Metro 'ere. I've been living 'ere in 'iding for about a year now."

I listened intently, on the edge of my seat as I grew more concerned for him. I haven't been quite this alert in a long time…

"And he hasn't found you yet?" I asked.

"I don't zink so," Bebe said, "My uncle's 'enchman are tired by night, so I take night classes whenever possible. Zis semester, I 'ave mostly afternoon classes and you wouldn't believe ze detours I 'ave to take just to get to class."

Something was still bothering me greatly. How on Earth had I been missing him this entire time?

"Where do you go during the day?" I asked, "We searched the entire campus twice and never saw you."

"Tricky detours," Bebe said, "I've 'ad to take notes on where each man eez stationed. I've taken quite lengthy precautions just to avoid being dragged 'ome. And when I'm not in class, I go 'ome or to work."

"Wait, so you're working now?"

"Well, I 'ave to pay ze rent and 'ave money for my projects, don't I?"

"You're paying rent…? So… you don't even live in the dorms?"

"No. I stay in an apartment complex off-campus."

This definitely explains why we couldn't find him, but I'm still lost.

"But why didn't you-?"

"'Ey," he grinned, "I want to ask questions too."

Right. I wasn't letting him ask me anything. He's just as curious about how I've been doing as I am about him. I need to back off and let him get his two cents in. Placidly, he pressed his cheek to his palm, his eyes mesmerized and fixed upon mine.

"'Ow long 'ave you been back…?" he asked, "I've been sort of wondering…"

"About two weeks," I replied, "At least, that's when Junpei and Yukari found me."

"Only two weeks?" Bebe asked, "Demo… 'ow did you get 'ere so fast…? Zere must 'ave been a lot of confusion, since you were… um… gone."

"Mitsuru was a load of help. She's got a lot of connections and they were aware of our situation."

"Ah. Zat explains eet. So when did you get 'ere?"

"Tuesday."

He lowered his eyes for a moment, looking inward before looking back at me shyly.

"And… you came 'ere… just to find me…?" he asked.

I smiled at him, blushing.

"Why else would I come here?" I asked, "Besides… I made a promise to you before you left… And I was finally given a chance to keep that promise, so I made sure to take it."

I fell quiet, my heart sinking as my mind ran through the painful memories I'd had during my time here. All the worries I felt piled onto my chest heavily, though I had no reason to fear them now.

"…I was really worried about you Bebe…" I whispered, "After… listening to Yukari and Aigis express their worries about you… I started to wonder if you were even still alive."

Bebe's head lifted from his palm, staring at me with concern as he realized I was starting to tear up.

"Tetsuya…?" he asked.

I looked back at him again, sucking it up.

"And then I had a dream the other night that I'd found you, but… you were already in the arms of someone else. So… I started to have doubts of whether or not you had moved on."

Bebe closed his eyes and sighed, and when he opened them, his eyes were filled with regret.

"I, um… I couldn't," he said, "I… was sort of forced to try."

Forced to-? What does that mean? He noticed the panic on my face and explained.

"My uncle set me up wiz some blind dates when 'e was still trying to 'elp," he said, "At first, eet was just girls, and zen 'e started trying to get me togezer wiz some boys. But… even zough we went out on dates, I couldn't see anyzing in zem… Zough ze girls were very pretty and ze boys were 'andsome… zey weren't you. I didn't 'ave a 'eart to give zem. I'd already given eet to you…"

My face began to burn as I felt myself smile. Marie was right, explicit as she had to be about it in order to get her point across: Bebe wouldn't throw himself into the arms of someone else. He truly loved me every bit as much as I loved him, and I should have seen that in the first place. I placed my hand over his, stroking it with my thumb. His eyes fell upon it and his lips parted as he softly inhaled.

"You're wearing eet…" he whispered with a smile.

I realized that I had placed my left hand upon his, displaying the ring in the open for the first time. I smiled at him warmly.

"There were a lot of things I woke up without," I told him, "But this never left my finger since the day you put it on."

He held my hand, looking up at my face pensively.

"You look different…" he said, "Your face eez more mature and a little thinner like ze rest of you… You're taller zan I remember… and yet… your eyes 'aven't changed… zey're exactly 'ow I remember zem… kind and gentle, filled wiz assurance and promises…"

He blushed as he smiled.

"Don't ever change, Tetsuya… I love you just ze way you are…" he whispered.

Leaning over the table, he pressed his lips lightly to mine.

For the rest of dinner, our conversation was kept light and casual. Strange, considering we had just reunited after an absence of four years, thinking the other was dead. For some reason, I wasn't really bothered by it. In fact, it was nice to have a normal conversation, pretending that nothing had really changed and that we were picking up right where we had left off. In fact… I can't even remember the last conversation I had with Bebe that wasn't heavy with worry about the Shadows and Nyx…

It feels different talking with him, discussing seemingly trivial problems like difficult classes and the stress from work. He has so much to say, and I feel that I have so little… after all, for him, it was four years. For me, it's only been a few months. Or at least that's how it feels. It doesn't matter to me if I don't speak. Being able to hear his voice and watch the way his face lights up as he tells me various stories about his adventures living on his own is the greatest privilege I've been given. He's doing surprisingly well, even able to manage around the men his uncle hired to find him. He says he hasn't changed much, but I can really hear and see it. Bebe's really spread his wings…

After we had finished, we got into a playful argument over who would pay the bill. It was a hefty sum, and Bebe insisted that it wasn't any trouble in comparison to what he spent on fabric. Eventually, I came out victorious when I reminded him that it was his birthday and he wasn't allowed to pay a bill on such a day if I was there. It was a reluctant surrender on his end, but he knew he could use the argument against me later on.

As we left, Bebe asked if I would return to his apartment with him and stay awhile. A chance to be alone with him at last… I gladly accepted his invitation, looking forward to the stay tremendously. Just the idea of being with him behind cozy, intimate walls warmed my heart in the otherwise chilly night. And what a place to get more insight into his life; see exactly how well he was doing with my own eyes.

We had to take a bus to get there, considering it was far from the school. It was a wise decision on Bebe's part to stay somewhere far away from the general location that his uncle pinpointed. When we got off the bus after a fifteen-minute trip, I was able to lay my eyes upon the place Bebe had been hiding all along. The apartment complex was a little nicer than the Iwatodai Apartments, and Bebe was paying for this with his own money. I wonder exactly how much income he makes… Of course, that's a pretty personal subject, and I'm not even sure discussing that with him would be entirely appropriate.

We walked past several doors and I grew more and more curious about which we were going to. It wasn't until we had reached the very end of the row that we finally stopped. He only had one neighbor…?

"Who lives over there?" I asked him, motioning to his neighbor on the left as he began searching for his keys.

"Oh, one of ze managers of ze new department store down ze street," Bebe said, "'E works ze night shift, so I never really see much of 'im."

I looked up at the second floor.

"What about the apartment above yours?" I asked.

His keys jingled as he pulled them out.

"No one lives zere," he said, "Eet's been vacant for zree months."

So he's still alone at night… It must be hard having no one around. Then again… that was my life for ten years. Of course, I spent that time pushing others away. I'm sure Bebe didn't ask for this. He took the key and stuck it in the doorknob. A few objects dangled from the key ring as he jiggled the key in the lock. One object, immediately familiar to me, was the tiny samurai I bought for him in Kyoto.

I smiled just as he pushed the door open. He let me go in before him politely, and I did. The atmosphere was more comforting than his last apartment; the room temperature was neither too warm nor too cold, and there was quite a bit more furniture and space.

Bebe took off the scarf and coat, hanging them on the hooks by the door with his keys. Slowly, he looked back at me, his face tinted with pink.

"So… um… I don't 'ave any neighbors zat are 'ere right now…" he said shyly, "We're… alone."

…alone… oh… So… maybe it wasn't so bad after all… that we were alone…

He threw his arms around me and began kissing me intimately as his hands ran through my hair. Without a second thought, I passionately returned his love. Yeah… we were alone together. At long last… this was what we had always wanted. A normal life together. And nothing would ever change that.

He pulled away for a moment, breathing as heavily as I. Taking my hand, Bebe started to walk with me. Alone at last. Together for the rest of our lives. This is the life I had wanted to live with him for a long time, and we were finally able to have it. With a smile that never left my lips, I followed him closely as he led me to the bedroom…


	7. Unbroken Bond

**Author's Note: I apologize in advance for the fluff chapter. It was a little excessive even for me, so I just wanted to warn you. Also, I'd like to take this moment to point out that Marie is in no way associated with the new character they just announced for Persona4: The Golden. I introduced mine first, so... it was awkward for me to hear about this new one with the same name and an interest in fashion. Anyway, the Marie in this story is OC Marie Prunet, and the Persona 4 characters are based on those of the original Persona4, having no connections with characters recently added in. Thank you for reading, and please enjoy. c:**

**Rendezvous**

**Chapter Six – Unbroken Bond**

Everything is so quiet… I can barely hear the birds outside as they exchange morning greetings to one another, casually going about their day. The sun filtering through the blinds and thin curtains casts white upon the room, tracing the wrinkles in the tangled bed sheets that fail to cover two pairs of feet.

Bebe slept soundly beneath my arm wrapped around him, warmed by the heat from his skin. He faced away from me, simply because it was a side he had grown comfortable with in my absence and needed time to adjust sleeping the other way. Even without seeing his face, I remembered how beautiful he was as he slept peacefully. Nuzzling my forehead against his thick blonde hair, I snuggled closer to him to compensate for the lack of warmth on my feet.

My mind was unable to leave the previous night… Everything was so perfect, just as I remembered it. For Bebe, it had been four years since we'd made love; for me it had only felt like a few months. However, somewhere in the middle of everything, something in my mind clicked and I was reminded of how long it had really been. For the first time, it really had been four years. Months without seeing Bebe turned into years of emptiness and solitude. I finally began to feel all of his pain that he'd felt in my absence, a magnification of the heartbreak I felt for those months after he left Japan and I finally realized how much more I really missed him. I was ashamed to break into tears upon his shoulder, but he held onto me through my sobs, crying with me. We will always be there for each other from here on out… Never again will we be apart. Ever.

I stroked Bebe's arm, relishing the softness of his skin as I ran my fingers from his shoulder down to his elbow again and again. Such a delicate person… so gentle and sweet. Maybe he was the reason I wasn't in pain last night. Since I had entered my second life, I spent every night writhing in pain as my legs stretched. Last night was different; I didn't feel as much as a cramp in my legs. Could it all really be over? If that's true… last night was the perfect time for it to stop.

My watch chirped from the nightstand and I realized that the hour had changed. I glanced at it from over my shoulder, trying to remain as still as possible to avoid disturbing Bebe's rest. …is it already eleven? We slept in really late! Oh, God, I don't want to make Bebe late for class! I need to get him up!

"Bebe," I said softly but frantically, giving his arm a gentle shake, "Bebe, we need to get up. It's eleven. You're gonna be late."

He grunted, slowly lifting his arm and moving it back to place on my hip and give it a pat.

"Eet's okay, baby. Eet's Saturday…" he mumbled.

Oh. That's right. Schools here don't have class on Saturday. Dammit. I should have thought that through more before disturbing him. I'm such an idiot…

He sighed, fidgeting as he realized he was unable to go back to sleep thanks to my stupidity. Slowly, he turned his head to look back at me with a sleepy smile.

"You're still 'ere…" he whispered, "Eet really wasn't a dream…"

I smiled back at him, nuzzling his forehead affectionately.

"Yeah… I'm still here, Bebe," I said quietly, "I'm not going anywhere…"

Pink tinted his cheeks as he rolled over to face me on my back, resting his head and hand upon my chest affectionately. With a contented sigh, he snuggled closer to me and pecked my lips. My heart gushed over with warmth and happiness being able to look into his beautiful eyes once again. I knew so many with blue eyes, myself included, but his had a sparkle of life and purity that the others didn't. I can't really explain it, but it's almost angelic…

We remained still for a long time, reveling in each other's presence and taking in every second with gratitude for whatever miracle that allowed us to be together again. Last time, we didn't have the chance to cuddle for long, so we were truly getting the most out of this moment. In all honesty, I could stay like this for the rest of my life. Just as long as I spent every last second by his side.

Bebe sighed again, tracing the light build on my chest tenderly with the pad of his middle finger.

"Eet's been a long time since I've 'ad someone to wake up to…" he whispered, "I'm 'appy zat eet's you…"

"It's been a long time since I've had someone to sleep beside," I told him, stroking his hair, "And I'm happy that it's you, too."

He beamed and curled up closer to me, nuzzling his tousled hair against my cheek.

"I want zis to last forever…" he said.

"It will, Bebe… I promise…"

He wrapped his arm around me and buried his face against the warmth of my chest, giving me a kiss on my collar bone. I stroked back his hair, pecking his forehead gently.

"Stay 'ome wiz me…" he whispered, "I don't want you to go…"

I looked at him, concerned with his repetitive behavior and realizing that he was having difficulty trusting me. He really was afraid that I was going to leave him again… I guess… I had made a lot of promises that I didn't really keep… I told him I wouldn't let him get hurt. I told him I wouldn't let his Uncle take him back. I told him I wouldn't let him leave my sight. I even told him I'd come out of battle alive… even though I did, I still died a few months later. Bebe had every right to question my reliability.

But that was over with… I would never let him go again, knowing exactly how much I had to lose. Knowing that he would only be torn apart again, I couldn't commit such an unforgivable sin. I stroked his cheek affectionately, looking him in the eyes and trying to communicate my promise in the best way I possibly could.

"I'll stay by your side for the rest of my life, Bebe," I promised, "I will never leave you again."

His lips turned into a gentle smile, placing his hand over mine and stroking up and down my forearm. After a moment, a soft chuckle escaped.

"So you'll stay 'ome wiz me today?" he laughed.

I grinned, taking him into my arms and pulling him to lay on top of me as I nuzzled him.

"Yeah," I responded, "If that's what you would like to do."

He propped himself up, just to hover over me a little as he tucked his hair behind his ear.

"Zere are a lot of zings I never 'ad ze chance to do wiz you," he said with a pleasant smile, "Could we do zose?"

My mind strayed for a moment to a place it probably didn't need to be. …no, he wasn't… no. Don't be stupid, Tetsuya. He's not a virgin, but he's pure as can be. Stop being such a damn pervert.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked, ready for anything.

"A bath."

…

…

…whoa. Seriously…?

"We never got to in Kyoto because I was too shy around ze ozers, remember?" he asked, "I still want to take a bath wiz you. I can wash your back. Zat's supposed to bring us closer, ne?"

…ah. I let out a sigh, rubbing my face as I started laughing. Of course, since he hadn't actually thought about it the way I had, he took offense,

"Naniiiiii…?" Bebe whined, "I'm serious, Tetsuya. I want to take a bath wiz you."

"I know you do," I chuckled, "That's absolutely fine."

He pouted for a moment longer before suddenly seeming to realize why I was laughing.

"O-Oh, you zought I meant-?" he chuckled.

"Yeah. Not that I'd have any objections to it, but it didn't seem like a suggestion coming from you," I said, "But yeah… a bath sounds nice."

He smiled happily, allowing me to sit up and greeting me with a kiss as I did so. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him romantically, moaning softly in response to his. After we parted, he moved off the bed and waited for me to stand so that he could take my hand and lead me to the bathroom. He plugged the drain of the tub and turned on the warm water, allowing it to fill slightly past halfway.

We both got in after the tub was mostly filled and Bebe had turned the water off. He stepped in before me so that I could have my back to him, allowing him to wash it as he pleased. He slowly caressed my back in silence, the tiny splashing of water as he lifted his arms from under the surface being the only sound to echo in the small, white bathroom. The sunlight spilled in through the thin curtains and cast a glow from the cleanliness of the tile, accenting the purest white I had seen since my revival.

"Hmm… zat's strange…"

"What's strange?" I asked, turning my head to look at him as he massaged my shoulders.

He stared at my back contemplatively, puzzled by something that I couldn't see or understand.

"Even 'ere your skin eez flawless," he said softly, "I zought zere would be a scar…"

A scar…?

Oh… he's referring back to that night. The night at Tartarus where both of us nearly died. There was a scar before… I remember looking at it every time I found myself in front of a mirror. Though such a wound may have needed more time to heal, the mark was there until the day I died. I hadn't thought to look again, but I suppose my body returned free of scarring or blemishes. A lucky thought, if I think about it more, but still strange.

Bebe moved away from my back to my chest, pulling me back to rest my head against his breast as his washed my chest. He sighed, resting his cheek against my hair.

"I didn't learn as much about you yesterday as I would 'ave liked to," he said quietly, "What was eet like after I left Japan…? For you…?"

"Anything but easy," I responded, "Not really just the fact that the battles were harder to fight, but… the idea that I was unable to see you again. It took me forever to get used to sleeping alone."

He chuckled softly and I could feel his smile.

"Me too," he said, then with a fallen smile, "Did you… know zat you were going to die…?"

"I had a strong feeling…" I said, "Ever since I came out of the battle with Nyx, I felt a gaping hole in my being. I was always tired and feeling emotions was a struggle, although I always managed to feel regret up until the last moment."

"Why ze last moment…?"

"Well… I felt that I had done my part to protect you… I felt like you were safe and that protecting you was what my life was meant for. In the end, I felt like I should be happy. …but I wonder if I was just trying to search for a way to die without regretting anything… It wasn't like I died without a single regret. I wanted to be able to see you one more time, at least. Tell you that I loved you and that things would be okay."

His arms wrapped around my shoulders and his face burrowed against my neck.

"I love you, too," he said, "And you're right… zings are okay. Better zan ever, now…"

I smiled, lifting my hand from the water to stroke his cheek. It's still hard for me to believe that I'm really seeing him again. After he left, I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to do anything and the end would come. But now that it's all been taken care of and I'm really here with him four years later… it's really something.

But I was still curious about him. The morning after the Dark Hour had ended, everyone in the dorm save for Aigis and myself had completely forgotten everything. They even forgot their relationships with each other. But… when they did remember, it wasn't until a moment before I slipped away. I had received Bebe's letter long before that day… So… did he not forget at all?

"When you woke up on the first of February… what was your first thought?" I asked.

Bebe chuckled, rubbing my shoulders.

"Zat's a long way back to remember…" he said, then falling quiet as he searched his memories, "I know zat I was surprised zat I made eet to midnight. I stayed awake during ze Dark Hour, staring outside at ze green sky and wishing I could be wiz SEES at zat moment and fighting by your side. Everyzing went white, and… I don't even know where I was… But I remember 'earing Ryoji-sama's voice."

He laughed when I frowned and my shoulders stiffened. He held me again, ignoring my refusal to lighten up at the mention of that unspeakable name.

"Actually… I was 'appier about what 'e said… 'e said zat you were okay and zat you would come back to fulfill your promise. Suddenly, I was back in my room, and when I saw ze sky turn back to normal, I felt such relief… I guess… ze next morning, I was just 'appy zat zere was still a chance to see you again. Zat's why eet was so 'ard when I learned zat Ryoji-sama's words were not… entirely true. Yukari-sama explained a lot, but… still… eet didn't make eet any easier."

"…so… you didn't forget anything about the Dark Hour, or… me?" I asked.

He smiled.

"Of course not," he replied, "'Ow could I forget my time in Japan? 'Ow could I forget you?"

He doesn't even realize how harsh those rhetorical questions are. After coming back, I had forgotten everything. The Dark Hour. My friends. …even Bebe. How could I tell him that…?

"I… um…" I stammered, making the mistake of even speaking up.

"You forgot…?" he asked quietly.

Crap, I didn't want to say anything about this. …but… at the same time, it's probably better to just tell him. I don't want it coming up again later and biting me in the ass like last time. If I can avoid getting into a fight with Bebe again, I will at any cost. I won't lose him again…

"Not after the Dark Hour," I said, "After… I came back. I mean… it all came to me within an hour, but… I guess I'm just upset that it left my mind at all. I didn't even know my name until Elizabeth said it… it took me more than a few seconds to recognize Yukari and Junpei… Things didn't come back as quickly as I would have liked… and it kind of pisses me off that someone as important as you left my mind for even a moment."

Shit, why am I even saying this? I'm going to hurt his feelings if I'm not careful about my wording! He looks really far into things and overanalyzes details! I need to make this as clear as I possibly can!

"I mean, I haven't thought of anything or anyone else since I remembered. And I did remember you within that hour, so it's not like I wasted any time!"

He pecked my cheek with a smile, taking my chin gently and facing my head towards his.

"You don't 'ave to defend yourself, Tetsuya," he said sweetly, "I don't know exactly what you went zrough, but I know eet was 'arder zan what anyone else 'as to go zrough. I'm not upset wiz you for zinking of what was right in front of you first. I'm just glad zat you remembered me in ze end."

I smiled back at him, nuzzling his nose lovingly.

"You know… the mind is an incredible thing," I said, "Even if I hadn't remembered you that day, I still would have seen you in my dreams that night."

He grinned in response and held onto me as tightly as his arms would allow, snuggling his face against my hair.

Our bath lasted for about half an hour before we finally decided to get out and dress. At once, I remembered that I hadn't brought a change of clean clothes, but Bebe was on top of it immediately. While my clothes were in the wash, he went to the closet and shifted through countless outfits with a single hand, using the other to keep his towel wrapped around him securely despite that it didn't really matter to either of us. Honestly, it just made him even cuter.

"Not to worry," he assured me calmly, "I 'ave something just perfect for you. Eet may be a little short since I didn't consider growth, but eet should still fit fine."

His fingers fell upon something deep in the closet, evidently the article he had been searching for as he let out a small exclaim and withdrew it. Deep blue silk fell out from behind the door as he held it out to me. A small, elegant butterfly design was printed at the bottom, and the clothing was lined with darker blue silk.

"Oh, wow…" I breathed, "Bebe, this is beautiful…"

He smiled, neither modest nor proud of his accomplishment.

"I'm glad you zink so," he said, "You were ze inspiration."

I blushed, deeply flattered. I'd been on his mind enough for him to design a kimono after his memory of me… From appearance alone, I could see that it was made to fit my size from last week. It would still fit my figure, but it was a little shorter than a traditional kimono. If anything, it was sort of nice to feel like I wasn't short for a guy. Still… designed for me…

"Eet's 'ard to want to make somezing beautiful and zink of anyzing ozer zan ze most beautiful memory I know…" he said softly, "Actually… you were my inspiration for a lot of zings. Not just clothes… Everyone said zey were living for you… and zough at times eet was 'ard to remind myself zat life was worth living, I wanted to live for you too. I wanted to show you zat you didn't waste your time or sacrifice for my pathetic life back zen. I wanted to become better for you."

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him, tears at the corners of my eyes. It was exactly what I had thought and hoped he would do, and exactly what I wanted the others to see. I let myself lose sight of what I knew to be true and was shrouded in doubt and anxiety. Feelings of guilt and elation danced around inside my chest, upset that I had ever doubted him and overjoyed to hear from his own tongue that he had been able to overcome his own doubts.

And… conceited as it seems… I admit that it makes me happy that he said he was living for me.

"Oh. Pfft."

Bebe giggled a little, looking away in embarrassment.

"What?" I asked, trying to understand what about this moment was funny.

He looked back, still somewhere between being amused and ashamed.

"Gomen nasai," he said, "You 'ave a little 'ickey."

Despite myself, I laughed as well. Our relationship was incredible; despite everything, we were already completely comfortable with each other. Things were different, but in a way that brought us much closer than we'd ever been before.

Bebe returned to the closet, removing a familiar red kimono.

"Hey, I know that one," I said with a grin.

"Hai!" he chirped happily, "Zis eez ze first one."

I picked up one of the sleeves, marveling at the texture of the silk and indulging in the memories of working together with Bebe to construct it. Though those days were sad at the time, as he intended to return to France after the kimono's completion, I remember them now as the days of innocence. At the time, Bebe's only concern was returning to his homeland. So unexposed to the darkness that befell the island every single night on the hour… He was a little happier then, but it was mostly blissful ignorance…

"I've made many clothes since I started attending fashion school, but zis 'as always been my favorite," Bebe told me, "Eet 'as your touch…"

I smiled again as he put it on. It was much shorter on him than before, but it didn't look bad at all. It was cute… and kinda sexy. Bebe noticed that I was staring, and seemed concerned.

"Doushita no?"

"Nothing," I said, "You look beautiful…"

He blushed and ducked his head as he smiled a bashful and modest smile. His eyes remained on mine for a moment before he moved.

"Wait 'ere. I 'ave somezing for you..." he said softly.

He went to the back of the room to a small desk, presumably where he worked on project plans and essays for school. While he had his back turned, I took the opportunity to put my kimono on, tying it a little looser like a casual robe as Bebe had. It was really too short anyway, but it was much more comfortable.

With a tiny grunt, Bebe stood up, carrying a stack of folded papers bound by string. It wasn't until he handed them to me that I realized the handwriting was hiragana and katakana. The first page started with "Dear Tetsuya,".

"These are letters?" I asked him, and he nodded gently.

"Zis was somezing zat 'elped me deal wiz… your death. In a way, eet really 'elped me out in ozer ways like keeping Nihongo fresh in my mind and eet was sort of like a journal, but… eet was ze only way I could talk to you. Nobody knows anyzing about zese letters. Not even uncle. After… after 'e 'it me, I knew I had to at least pretend zat I wasn't still zinking of you… I would write letters to you almost every night. Even back in Japan, you were ze only one I could really tell everyzing to. Being wizout someone to talk to anymore… isn't easy. I always tried to convince myself zat you were getting zese messages, but… as much as I wanted to believe, I knew you weren't where I wanted you to be… Eet was… 'arder knowing zat you weren't even watching over me from 'Eaven…"

A tear slipped down his cheek and he quickly wiped it away with his palm, missing the one that came sliding down his other cheek. Tenderly, I wiped it away and caressed his face with a smile. He smiled back at me, placing his hand over mine.

"I never zought you would really be able read zem…" he said, "But… I'm really 'appy you can now."

He pecked my cheek and faced me again with a much happier smile. I completely understand how he feels about these letters. Especially in writing, people can pour out their most heartfelt and deep secrets that they can't properly word aloud. This set of letters was written for only my eyes…

…

Wait a minute.

Oh, crap. I was in such a hurry yesterday when I realized what time it was that I completely forgot about the journal. It was resting back on the nightstand at the hotel, right where I'd left it. Dammit.

"Eez somezing wrong?" Bebe asked, sensing that I was irritated about something.

I shook my head, assuring him that I wasn't angry with him.

"N-No, no, it's just… I had something for you but I left it back at the hotel. It's… something like this, but more of a story than letters," I said.

"A story?" Bebe asked.

"Yeah. About… about our time together. At least, how I felt about it."

He blinked in surprise, followed by a beautiful smile with a faint blush to tint his young cheeks.

"You really wrote about zat…? I'd love to see eet," he grinned.

"I wrote it for you," I said with a smile, "I just wish someone had known what it was so they could have sent it to you sooner. I really wanted you to know exactly how I felt about you before I-"

Abruptly, my stomach let out a tiny growl and the blood rushed quickly to my face. Are you kidding me right now? That's so embarrassing! I looked away awkwardly as Bebe started to giggle at my mortifying moment.

"S-Sorry, that was… really weird," I muttered.

He laughed a little harder, genuinely amused. I like it when he smiles, but for some reason, I'm more ashamed and embarrassed that he's… laughing _at _me.

To my surprise, Bebe slid arms around my waist and gave me a squeeze.

"You're kawaii," he chuckled, "Sorry, I wasn't zinking about zat. We should eat, ne? Do you want to 'elp me wiz breakfast?"

Though still embarrassed, I couldn't resist my urge to accept the offer, reluctantly murmuring,

"Yeah…"

He giggled again and pressed his lips to my cheek briefly, taking my hand in his to lead me to the kitchen.

"Okay, come on. I'll teach you 'ow to make crêpes, if you want."

* * *

Breakfast preparation took longer than I expected, but I didn't really mind. Bebe spent a lot of time explaining the basic mechanics of making good crêpes, and I went through a few attempts before getting one spot-on. Bebe's looked a lot better, likely due to his experience. During the preparation time, we ate fresh strawberries, feeding them to each other the way newly weds do. I never really considered meal preparation a romantic thing, but I guess the idea of working together was more bonding than I'd felt in a long time.

Once we finished making the crêpes, we exchanged each others' to sample cooking. Bebe seemed to enjoy mine, but I know it wasn't comparable to his own. Again, it might have been the euphoria of not having eaten for four years, but Bebe's cooking was like nothing else I'd ever tasted. I'd had a little of it before, a very long time ago, but not enough for me to really know how good he was. I think my face spoke it before my mouth did because he, like my friends, noticed my evidently obvious reaction and giggled.

Satiated after the meal, we cleaned up and returned to Bebe's room to laze about. We sprawled out on the bed, cuddling as we both sighed contentedly.

"Better?" Bebe asked with a smile.

"Yes," I replied with a grin, "Thank you for the food. It was amazing."

"You really make too much of me, mon chéri," Bebe grinned, poking my cheek playfully.

Once more, he pecked my cheek and snuggled against me lovingly. We were still for a moment before he was distracted by something on the nightstand, staring in its direction for a few seconds.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I'm surprised you still have your 'eadphones…" he said, "Zen again, I never see you wizout zem."

"Yeah, Yukari held onto them for me for the past few years," I said, "I was happy to see them again, but I was happier to see the ring still on my finger."

Bebe looked back at me with a smile.

"Can I ask you for somezing?" he asked.

He's asking a favor? He never asks for anything… I've always kind of wanted him to ask more of me, but he always tries to do things on his own out of fear of troubling me. Of course I'm more than just enthusiastic that he's asking me for something.

"Sure. What?"

"Can… I listen to zem?" he asked shyly, "I know eet's dumb, but… I remember back when I first saw ze Shadows and… you were trying to comfort me. You gave me your 'eadphones so zat I could listen to ze music and calm down… It might seem stupid, but… zat made me a lot 'appier zan you know. I felt like I was able to enter your world, and at ze time, zat was rare for me. Zinking back on eet still fills me wiz unexplainable 'appiness."

He still remembers that? Wow… I didn't even think it was that big of a deal to him…

"I still remember our first dance," he went on, "I 'ave a lot of fond memories about what you listen to… so… can we please listen again?"

Is this seriously something he thought would be a lot to ask of me? I smiled, reaching over him and dragging the mp3 player and headphones over to the bed.

"You're too cute. I'd love to listen with you," I said, handing him the left headphone as I put on the right.

"Arigatou gozaimasu!" Bebe grinned, excitedly placing the headphone over his ear.

"What do you want to listen to?" I asked him.

"Anyzing eez fine as long as you like eet. We 'ave very similar taste in music. You like Memento Mori, Lotus Juice, and Risette, ne?"

"Yeah, they're all great. That reminds me, have you heard Risette's new song yet?"

"Which one?"

"'Be True'?"

"Um… zat's 'ardly new. Eet came out two years ag- Oh! Zat's right. Gomennasai."

"No that's okay. I'm… kinda surprised you know it, actually…"

Bebe smiled at me happily.

"I kept up wiz some zings on ze Internet," he said semi-proudly, "I really love zat song. Eet 'as such a mysterious message, ne?"

I blushed, embarrassed with myself.

"Um… I don't know. I never really paid attention to the meaning of the song. I was too busy thinking about other things…"

Other things, meaning him. He smiled and sat closer to me.

"Do you 'ave eet?" he asked.

I nodded and turned on my mp3 player, scrolling through the playlist to find the song. Once I'd located it, I let the song start, taking time to revel in the melody the instruments played for the first time. I'd listened to it once or twice on the plane, but I wasn't really hearing it… this song is… really good, actually. I rested my forehead against Bebe's, placing my hand over the headphone on his ear. With a smile, he placed his hand on mine.

After the instrumental introduction, Risette's voice came through clearly. This song already sounds very different from her others… she sounds much more mature and alive. Like she's been mentally or emotionally changed... I listened carefully for the message Bebe spoke of, hearing the new Risette for the first time:

_Didn't think I had to hide_

_Myself from those staring eyes._

_Didn't realize…~_

_I was digging myself deeper,_

_Being nothing more than a dreamer_

_The dream was a keeper…~_

_But a lying dream is a nightmare,_

_And yet I still took the dare,_

_Falling into despair…~_

_Then I met her – my other face,_

_A disgrace, without a trace of_

_Me anyplace._

_What did I do~ to you~?_

_BE TRUE, don't lie,_

_Don't hide your eyes_

_Just let your feelings_

_Be your light._

_BE TRUE, don't run,_

_Rise from shadow to sun,_

'_cuz we two are one~_

_BE TRUE~_

When the music faded away, I looked back at Bebe as he waited for my response. He was right; there was something mystifying about the song's message. I couldn't figure it out…

"You're confused too? I've tried looking up ze meaning of eet, but she only describes eet as ze inspiration zat made 'er come back to ze stage. Like an epiphany. 'Er songs are very different from before… I like zem. Zey feel more real…"

"I know what you mean," I said, "I felt something from that song. It wasn't just good… it… had a deep feeling."

"A lot of 'er songs 'ave to do wiz love, but zey're sad," Bebe said poignantly, then almost angrily, "Did you know she was in Tatsumi Port Island? Ze year I came to Japan!"

"What?" I blurted, feeling inexplicably angry as well, "She was so close to us? What the hell? How didn't we hear about it?"

"Eet was supposed to be a small concert, but zey 'ad eet at Paulownia Mall! Eet got cancelled for some reason, but I can't believe we were so close to meeting 'er… Talk about a once in a lifetime opportunity…"

"Yeah, no kidding," I sighed, hanging my head with disappointment, "I would have liked to go to a Risette concert with you…"

Bebe grinned and laughed.

"Well… she's touring," he said, "Maybe someday we can go on a date."

Before I could respond, he covered his face with his hands, blushing intensely. He wasn't taking them away, so I began to worry that something was wrong.

"Bebe?"

He took his hands away, still grinning though he was unable to make eye contact with me.

"I 'aven't talked about dating in a long time…" he said, "Eet feels nice knowing… zat I can go out wiz you again."

I smiled and took his hand.

"Then let's go out," I said, "I know you said you wanted to stay home, but I think we need to go on a date again."

His face fell as I spoke, which brought my smile down immediately.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He looked away from me, taking his hand out of mine and placing it in his lap.

"I… um… I can't…" he muttered, "I can't just go out in ze daylight…"

"Why? You're not a vampire are you?" I asked jokingly.

I managed to make him chuckle, so I was able to feel a little better.

"No," he laughed, then somber again, "Demo… I don't want to risk my uncle finding out."

I frowned, angered that I was hearing this. His uncle really had scared the shit out of him this time. He couldn't even leave his own apartment out of fear that he would get dragged out of the school. God… I took his hand again, looking at him more sincerely.

"Do you think I'm afraid of him? I'm not going to let him take you," I promised.

"I don't want you to have to deal wiz 'im, okay? 'E's not a good man," Bebe said, "I'm lucky zat 'e 'asn't found where I work… I don't know what 'e's going to do if 'e finds me, but I don't want to give 'im any advantages. I know 'is men are out during ze day… I still want to go out wiz you… eet just 'as to be at night…"

"You can't let him run your life like that," I said, hurting, "Otherwise, you're not really free and you're not really happy."

"I never said I was 'appy…" he said, "I didn't expect 'appiness after you died…"

Sighing, I finally let the subject go. I probably shouldn't have said what I did, but there wasn't anything false about my words. Even if he's not living under the same roof, Bebe's still living his life cautiously and secretively. He may be independent, but he hasn't broken away from his chains yet.

Still… this is a sensitive topic that he's going to have to slowly warm up to. I can't expect him to just run into things head first if he's not comfortable with it. I placed my hand on his cheek and stroked it gently.

"I'm sorry…" I said softly, "I know things haven't been easy, and I don't doubt that you've been through hell. I just… I want you to be happy… I'm here for you, and I'm never going to leave your side again. Just let me help you find happiness again."

He smiled and placed his arms around me, giving me a tight squeeze.

"I've found my 'appiness," he said.

I couldn't hide a blushing smile, and he kissed my cheek as he noticed.

"I still want to go out wiz you, Tetsuya," he said, "I want to feel comfortable when we're on our date. Zat's why I want to wait until tonight."

Finally, I surrendered, unable to argue with that logic. We had plenty of time to get things sorted out. In fact, we had all the time in the world. But for now, we were just taking things slowly.

* * *

For the rest of the day, we were pretty lazy, but I enjoyed sitting around and relaxing with Bebe. Most of our time was spent watching television, which brought me back to the times we spent our afternoons at Screenshot, watching and "watching" the featured French films. The only difference this afternoon was that we were in the comfort of Bebe's home, able to lounge on the sofa, and we could actually see each other.

Once the sun had set, we finally got dressed for our long-awaited outing. We had discussed where we could go, and we finally narrowed it down to a café for dinner. Instead of taking a bus, the two of us walked together hand-in-hand, savoring each other's presence and the peacefulness of the night. Already, the stars began to cast a glittery blanket across the sky as the sun left a pink shade at the very bottom of the horizon. The sounds of the nightlife chirped in a lively manner, creating a chorus of variety. France is very different from Japan, but… it's such a beautiful place…

We stopped by a small café in a quiet part of town, away from city life and noise. Bebe said it was a pretty good place and had cheap prices for fine quality. He didn't know it, but I was going to take the bill again, like it or not. After we had finished eating a delicious meal, we stared out at the scenery. The café was near a park and many lovers were out at this hour. I've never seen so many couples before…

"You know… nobody's been staring at us tonight…" I said quietly, "It's sort of strange."

"Not really," Bebe said, "I mean, I suppose our relationship eez slightly different from ze norm, but love eez so open 'ere. Eet's not like Japan at all."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I zought you could tell me. You were always showing affection in public, not like anyone else."

…oh. I guess I kinda forgot that Japanese couples don't usually flaunt their relationship status like we did. Maybe some of the staring had nothing to do with the fact that we were two guys… I know I'm still a little new to love and everything, but I don't really understand why I can't be open with my feelings. It's not anything I feel ashamed of, nor do I want to hide the feelings I have for him…

"Bonjour, Tetsuya!"

I looked around a little, surprised that I was hearing my name. I'm in France. Who here knows my name? Bebe seemed equally confused, if not more.

"Did… someone just call you?" he asked, "Eet sounded like a girl."

I looked at him quickly. Did I hear suspicion?

"H-Hey! I came here looking for you. Not French girls," I stammered.

Bebe laughed a little at me.

"I wasn't accusing you of zat," he said.

And then I noticed the short girl who approached us rapidly, her brother following behind her closely. I recognized both of them immediately, though I was unused to seeing them in casual wear. Well… if you could consider what they wore to school a uniform.

"Bonjour, Tetsuya!" she said again.

"O-Oh! Hey, Marie!" I greeted, "Hey, Pierre. Sorry, I didn't realize that was you two."

"It's all right," Pierre said, "We're surprised to run into you here this late."

"Um… Tetsuya, do you know zem…?" Bebe asked quietly, confused.

The twins took notice to Bebe immediately, and they both appeared equally surprised.

"A-Andre? Andre… Geraux, right?" Marie asked, "I'm surprised to see you here. And with Tetsuya."

"Ohh, you're the boy who won the contest back in high school," Pierre said.

"Yes, that's right," Bebe said, the language flowing a little more smoothly from his tongue.

Exchanging a glance, the twins communicated silently, occasionally looking at the two of us. Marie's smile turned into a grin rather quickly.

"C-Could you… possibly… be Tetsuya's Bebe?" she asked eagerly.

The title put a smile on both his face and mine.

"I guess you could say that. Yes," Bebe responded with a giggle.

Marie's arms immediately flew open and wrapped around Bebe as she let out a shrill squeal that attracted the eyes of everyone in the area.

"Ahh! It's you! It's really you!" she squealed, "I'm so happy he found you!"

"Well, technically, Pierre pointed me in the right direction," I said.

Pierre blushed, scratching the back of his head a little.

"Y-Yeah, but… you still found him," he said modestly.

The look on Bebe's face expressed complete confusion at the hug from this practical stranger, and he only seemed further disturbed when Marie kissed his cheeks. Admittedly, my stomach jumped a little when she did. I have to remind myself that the Faire la Bise is a casual gesture in France, but seeing someone else's lips touch Bebe's face still makes me think of… _him. _

"I-I'm sorry. How exactly do you know Tetsuya, again?" Bebe asked, his shoulders tensely risen.

"Oh! Pardon me!" Marie apologized, letting go of him at last, "I'm Marie and this is my brother, Pierre. We met Tetsuya a few days ago at school."

"A-Ah, so you're the ones who helped him find me," he replied, easing up as he realized who they were, "I do seem to remember seeing your faces in high school. You're the Prunet twins, aren't you?"

Marie hid her face, grinning and blushing uncontrollably.

"I feel like I'm being recognized by a celebrity," she giggled.

"Will you calm down?" Pierre muttered, "You're so embarrassing."

"I'm just excited that he and Tetsuya are back together! Don't tell me you're not happy too!"

"Well… yeah, but I'm not acting like a giddy fangirl."

Pierre quickly looked at Bebe.

"I really am happy you two found each other again," he assured him, "I think we can both rest easy knowing you're okay. We were starting to get worried."

"I wasn't!" Marie announced proudly, "I told you he wouldn't kill himself or throw himself at another! Don't say I didn't! I have witnesses!"

"Yeah, like, half the academy," I grumbled, still pissed about her tactless inquisition.

Bebe blushed.

"You were both pretty involved, huh…?" he asked shyly.

"Yep!" Marie grinned, far from modest, "We looked for you with and without Tetsuya, since we had the inside scoop on the academy."

Bebe's manner had calmed immensely and he was beginning to better understand the roles of the two who had helped me out so much over the past few days. Ducking his head shyly, he avoided eye contact.

"I'm so sorry for putting you through so much trouble," he said awkwardly, "I truly appreciate what you've done for us… you have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you…"

"Aww, you don't have to thank us," Marie said, suddenly modest, "Anything to help out. After talking to Tetsuya about your situation, I couldn't let this story end in tragedy. I don't like those kinds of love stories."

"Me neither," Bebe responded, looking in my direction with a slight smile.

"Have you made any plans now that you're back together?" Pierre asked.

"Mm, no, not really. For now, we're just getting reacquainted," Bebe smiled, "Besides, I love spontaneity, and Tetsuya brings a lot of that."

Marie grinned slyly, evidently forming conclusions about how I brought spontaneity into his life.

"Romantic reunion se-?"

"Stop what you're doing," Pierre muttered, covering her mouth before she could say anything that would cause more public humiliation.

"So what are you guys doing?" I asked.

"Errands," Pierre replied, "We're picking up groceries and supplies for the next project."

"From which store are you buying supplies?" Bebe asked curiously.

"Bella Mode."

"It closes in twenty minutes. Claude likes to close up early on weekends."

"C-Claude? Do you work there?"

"Part-time."

"Oh! Well thank you for letting us know!" Marie smiled, "I'm sorry if we interrupted you."

"Not at all," Bebe said, "By the way, tell Claude that you know Andre. He'll give you a friends' discount."

Both of the twins smiled happily.

"Oh my gosh! You're the best!" Marie squealed, "Thank you! Well, we'd better get going if we want to make it before closing time! Enjoy the rest of your romantic evening, and practice safely!"

Bebe tilted his head.

"Practice what?"

Oh, thank God for your innocence, Bebe.

"Don't make her explain it," I murmured.

The two began to hurry off before I could say good-bye. I didn't just want them to leave without thanking them.

"Hold on," I said, standing up quickly.

They stopped and turned to look at me, waiting for what I had to say. I know I'm in France and that they're French, but I can't ignore the way I was raised to thank them respectfully.

"Thank you… for helping me find him," I said, "Bebe means everything to me and he's the only one I've ever loved. This… this means more to me than you'll ever know. I can never fully repay you."

I placed my hands by my sides, ready to lean forward and bow to them, more comfortable with this expression of gratitude.

"Oh…!" Bebe exclaimed softly, remembering the gesture and starting to stand to join me. Flustered and determined to be beside me as I bowed, he attempted to move his chair back and stand simultaneously, resulting in ramming his knee against the underside of the table. Witnessing such an injury caused a sharp pain to run screaming through my kneecap as if I'd hit my own knee. Both of us briefly cried out, holding the same knee.

"Aww! Tetsuya has sympathy pains!" Marie squealed, somehow romanticized by our simultaneous pain.

"That's not cute," Pierre retorted.

"Ow…" Bebe murmured, "Tetsuya, daijoubu…? What did you do?"

I'm not even entirely sure myself what made the pain occur. I doubt sympathy pains would have been enough to make me double over. The only thing I can think of is that I might still be growing a bit and the timing of my pain was purely coincidence. The strangest coincidence I can imagine, but regardless…

"Nothing," I responded quietly with a wince, "I've been having growing pains. This is what I get for not feeling it last night…"

"You guys okay?" Pierre asked.

"We're fine," I assured them, standing straight again and helping Bebe out from his seat.

Once we had gotten our pain sorted out, we faced the twins with a smile and proceeded with our gesture of utmost respect.

"Arigatou gozaimasu…" Bebe said quietly.

"Oh, wow!" Marie exclaimed, "This is too cool! You guys are the best! We love you!"

"Best wishes to you both," Pierre said, a seldom-seen grin on his face.

Awkwardly, he bowed back to us and Marie curtseyed, slightly confused. Finally, we all bid our farewells.

* * *

The walk home was peacefully quiet. In fact, we hadn't spoken much since our encounter with the twins. I wasn't too worried about it since Bebe was smiling the whole way back. When the apartment complex was within sight, he finally turned to me.

"Zey're really wonderful friends, ne?" he asked, blushing shyly.

"Yeah, they are. They really did more to help me find you than I expected of anyone," I told him.

Bebe's eyes flashed to our feet and then back to my eyes where they stayed put, his smile even prettier than before.

"What you said to zem earlier… about what I meant to you…" he said quietly.

"I meant every word of it," I said, smiling back at him.

I pressed my lips to his warm cheek, chuckling as he looked down bashfully.

"I mean… I didn't zink you were lying, and I don't doubt zat you really feel zat way, demo… eet was nice to nice to 'ear you say eet… I 'aven't 'ad zose sort of compliments in a long time…"

"Well, you should," I told him.

We paused outside his apartment so that he could unlock the door and let us inside. As soon as he closed the door, he threw his arms around me tightly. I wrapped my arms around him as well, holding him close against me as we snuggled.

"Arigatou, Tetsuya…" he whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Bebe," I whispered back, following with a lengthy, romantic kiss.

As we pulled away, we smiled at each other happily. What a life this is going to be…

"So… what should we do now…?" I asked.

Bebe's eyelids fell slightly, gazing at me seductively.

"Well… I know somezing we can do…" he cooed.

… … …seriously? He's making a legitimate suggestion now? I mean, I can't say that I don't like it, but still… It's Bebe. Regardless of my surprise, I still find myself able to smile at him and go with his suggestion smoothly.

"Yeah… we could…" I purred.

For some reason, Bebe seemed surprised by my response, almost as if he'd expected me to refuse.

"O-Oh. I was actually just flirting, demo…" he murmured, "A-Are you really up to eet…?

"Do you not want to?"

Bebe kissed me passionately without further response, jumping into my arms with his legs wrapped around my waist. I've never really noticed how light he is… But… seeing how enthusiastic he is… I'll take that as a "yes." As I kissed him back, I cautiously sought my way back to his bedroom where he stood back on his feet again. He moved me back towards the bed to lay me down, sitting on my stomach and kissing me more. I never really thought about it, but now that we've got our own place, we can do this a lot more often…

"Bebe, I love you…" I whispered.

"I love you, too…" he breathed.

He moved his lips to my throat and I held him tighter. Our lives are going to be so different now… But they'll definitely be better… I can just feel-

I jumped abruptly as I heard a buzzing noise close to my ear, Bebe starting as it caught him by surprise as well. A light caught the corner of my eye and upon looking at it, I realized that it was my cell phone vibrating from the nightstand. Bebe chuckled as I groaned, kissing me again despite that I was reaching for it. Checking the Caller I.D., I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as I realized the incoming call was from Junpei, who I hadn't even really seen or thought of since late, yesterday afternoon. Crap… this can't go well…

I answered it with a slightly shaken,

"Hello…?"

"Oh, thank GOD!" Junpei's voice sighed, "Where the hell have you been? We were scared shitless about you!"

"He picked up?"

I heard Yukari's voice almost clearly in the background.

"Put him on speakerphone! …Tetsuya? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Yukari, I'm fine. Better than ever actually," I responded, feeling as awkward as if she were standing in the room as Bebe lay on top of me.

"Eez zat Yukari-sama?" Bebe asked, immediately distracted from our intimate moment, "Eez she 'ere?"

I placed it on speakerphone for him so that he could greet them.

"Moshi moshi, Yukari-sama!" he chirped merrily into the phone.

"Bebe! It's so nice to hear your voice again!"

"B-Bebe?" Aigis' voice exclaimed, evidently surprised that he was confirming his own status.

"Aigis-sama! You're 'ere too?"

"O-Oh my God! He found you?" Junpei cried, "You're alive! Oh my God!"

"Junpei-sama! Eet's been so long since I've 'eard from you! I miss you!"

Yeah, it's definitely feeling like they're in the room right now. Why is Bebe still comfortable laying on top of me…?

"Holy crap! Tetsuya, I can't believe you didn't tell us sooner! Dammit, we were out looking for you two all day!" Yukari scolded.

"Sorry, it wasn't exactly my first thought," I responded bluntly.

"We've been texting and calling you all day! We thought something bad happened to you!"

"Sorry, alright? I didn't have my phone on me and I was catching up with Bebe…"

"You've got your entire life to do that!" Junpei complained, "Hell, you guys can live together and have a puppy! The point in this was to bring Bebe back with us, wasn't it?"

"Eh?" Bebe asked, "You… want to take me back wiz you…?"

"Tetsuya… did you really not tell him?" Yukari asked.

"Again, not my first thought."

"Are you stupid or something?"

"Hey, will you relax? I was getting around to it. Look, we're both fine. There's nothing to worry about."

"What's eating you?" Junpei asked, then mischievously, "Ohh, did we interrupt you guys having sex?"

"Junpei!" Yukari groaned, "Will you stop being such a perv? You're getting married for God's sake! Besides, do you honestly see Bebe having sex?"

"Didn't really want that mental image, but…"

Meanwhile, Bebe and I were blushing awkwardly. Slowly, Bebe rolled off of me and sat on the other side of the bed timidly. Dammit, guys.

"Demo… what about taking me back…?" Bebe asked, "Were you… serious?"

"Of course we were serious," Yukari said, "Tetsuya, tell him."

I looked over at him, delighted by his eager expression but understanding that this conversation was serious.

"Bebe… I… I know that you're attending the academy on a scholarship, and… believe me, I understand that it's one of the best, I really do, but… I promised that I'd take you back to Japan. If… you still want me to-"

"Hai."

I blinked in surprise at the single word of acceptance. Was he even thinking about what this move involved…?

"What?" I asked.

"I want to go back wiz you," Bebe said, "I'm ready to be able to walk where I please wizout worrying about Uncle."

"You realize we're talking about leaving tomorrow morning, right?" I asked, "There's not a lot of time for you to withdraw from Rěvefutur or give notice to your landlord, not to mention the fact you can't pack everything."

"Listen to you finally realizing how much more complicated your plan was," Yukari said, almost mockingly.

"Ze sooner we leave, ze better," Bebe replied, "I can handle my withdrawal from Japan, and I can let Luc know about my situation in ze morning. And I don't 'ave to take everyzing wiz me. I 'ave everyzing I need being wiz you."

I blushed, and then frowned when Junpei groaned,

"Get a room."

"I love you, Tetsuya. And I want to go home wiz you…" Bebe said quietly.

"Aww…" said Yukari's touched voice.

I can't really argue with Bebe when he puts it that way. While I love it here in France, I know Bebe doesn't feel that it's where he belongs. He's always seemed much happier in Japan, even if people here seem to accept him more. But I want him to be happy. I want us to have the happily ever after we never thought we would have. I didn't get to graduate together, but we still have a chance to start again, have a family, and grow old together. I remember him telling me that was what he wanted… and I want it too. More than anything in the world, I want to spend the rest of my life by his side, taking care of him and protecting him from the world's evils. What I've tried to do all along. I smiled at him and stroked his cheek, my finger tingling at the warmth of his blush. It's official. We're going home.


	8. Hinderance

**Rendezvous**

**WARNING: Contains major spoilers from end of Persona4**

**Chapter Seven**** - Hindrance**

The airport was bustling as the two of us walked in with Bebe's few bags of possessions. I was glad that the landlord was willing to help Bebe deal with the move on such short notice, giving him the opportunity to lease the apartment once we were in Japan. On the shuttle, Bebe sat low in his seat, seeming both happy to be going home with me, yet nervous of his surroundings. He really doesn't need to stay here anymore. Not if he's afraid to leave his apartment… I want him as far away from his uncle as I can possibly take him…

As we set the bags down on the floor momentarily, someone called out our names from across the airport. Junpei, Yukari, and Aigis waved in our direction and beckoned us to come closer. Even though it's only been a couple of days, I feel like I haven't seen them in weeks. We hurried to meet with them, Bebe moving a little faster as he seemed to be more excited to see them. I keep forgetting that it really has been four years for him.

"Bebe! I'm so happy to see you!" Yukari grinned "I missed you so much!"

"I'm 'appy to see you too, Yukari-sama! Eet 'as been too long!" Bebe chirped.

He put his bags down and threw his arms around her affectionately. Though surprised by the unfamiliar gesture, Yukari hugged him back with matching warmth. Junpei went over to both of them and embraced them both.

"Long time no see, Bebe!" he grinned, "Glad Tetsuya found you in one piece!"

"Eet's good to see you again, Junpei-sama."

The three of them released the embrace, all smiles and relieved by the mere sight of each other.

"We were so worried about you," Yukari said.

"Yeah, where have you been?" Junpei asked.

"Gomen nasai. I didn't mean to make you all worry," Bebe said, "I 'ave been taking night classes and a day job…"

"College and a job," Junpei sighed, almost reminiscent for some reason, "You've got quite a bit going on in your life. Lucky guy."

"I wouldn't call eet lucky, but eet 'as given me a chance to live on my own," Bebe said.

"But you're ready to live with Tetsuya now, aren't you?" Yukari asked with a smile.

Looking back at me, Bebe smiled with his response.

"Hai," he said, "I'm ready to go 'ome."

Every time he says that he's going home, it tingles my heart with a happy warmth. Bebe does feel a lot safer and happier when he's in Japan, but I know what he really means. He's home when he's with me, and I can say that I'm at home when I'm with him as well…

Aigis approached Bebe timidly.

"Bebe…" she spoke in a soft tone.

He looked back at her with a friendly smile.

"Aigis-sama, you came too…" he said, "I'm 'appy you did."

She looked down.

"I'm appy I did too," she said.

"Seriously? You're still doing this?" I asked her, unsure of why Bebe's accent had such an influence on her.

"But… I want to apologize," Aigis told him, "I promised I would take of Tetsuya, and… …I couldn't do my part… and I had my doubts about you… I thought you wouldn't want to live without Tetsuya… I know I didn't… and… I wanted to thank you for not giving up… it means a lot to all of us… Tetsuya was a mess without you."

For a long time afterwards, nobody said anything, trying to figure out what they could say. It was true that we'd been worried about Bebe's condition for awhile, but it was nice to finally prove to them that my instincts had been right all along, though it had seemed unlikely for awhile. I found it interesting that she was apologizing to him for my death, seeing that it wasn't her fault or anyone's fault. She seemed almost reluctant to speak to him, almost as if she had been afraid that he would be angry with her for breaking her promise. Before the silence became too awkward, Bebe placed his arms around Aigis and gave her a hug as well.

"You did do your part, Aigis-sama," he said quietly, "Arigatou. I missed you."

Reluctantly, Aigis returned the embrace.

"I missed you too…" she said softly.

They let each other go and we all faced each other with smiles.

"Well?" Yukari asked with a smile, "Are we ready to go?"

"Yeah, I think so," I said, "Did you call Mitsuru-senpai this morning?"

"Yeah, we still need to confirm the flight, though. Since its short notice and on a Sunday, she didn't want to bother the jet pilots, so we're taking a regular plane this time."

"Eh… seriously…?"

"I know, I know, but at least we're going home, right? It's better than staying around another day."

Bebe looked behind himself and then back at Yukari.

"Hai. As long as we go today," he said softly, "I don't mind 'ow we get zere."

"Cool," Junpei smiled, and then handing me my suitcase, "Here's your stuff. Don't worry, everything's in there, including the journal that was on the nightstand. Aigis triple-checked the room to make sure."

"Great. Thanks," I said, taking the suitcase back.

"We're getting in line to pick up the tickets," Yukari said, "It's still on Mitsuru, so I just have to let them know it's us and we'll be good to go. You guys can wait for us here if you'd like."

"Sounds good," I said.

The other three headed to the long line for check-in while Bebe and I headed over to a row of chairs to wait comfortably. Plopping down in unison, we both let out a soft sigh. Bebe scanned the area quickly before sitting back and looking up at the ceiling with relief. A contented smile curved his lips and he rested his eyes peacefully. I knew immediately what he was thinking, I was feeling it too. This is really it; we're on our way home.

"Are you ready?" I asked with a smile.

"Mm, hai," Bebe grinned, "I'm ready to leave zis all be'ind… Eet's nice to get out in ze morning."

He sat up quickly, looking around the airport nervously before sitting back again, this time not at ease.

"Still worried about your uncle and his men?" I asked him .

He nodded shakily, an apprehensive sigh shuddering from his lips. Come to think of it, he's been acting pretty paranoid all morning… I wrapped my arm around his shoulders, stroking his arm affectionately as I attempted to calm him.

"Think about it this way…" I said, "Once we're on that plane, you won't have to worry about him finding you ever again. He won't even be close to finding you. Until we can find a more permanent location, we can live in an apartment complex for awhile. I'm sure there's a good fashion academy somewhere in Japan that we can get you enrolled in."

Bebe smiled and rested his head on my shoulder.

"'Ey, did Marie text you back?" he asked.

I'd almost forgotten about the text I sent her and Pierre earlier that morning. I basically wanted to thank them one more time and let them know that we were going back. When I pulled out my phone, I confirmed that Marie had responded:

_Good luck guys~! We wish u the best! 3 U~_

Bebe chuckled and nuzzled my shoulder.

"Zey're so sweet," he smiled, then pensively, "I wonder 'ow zings will be back 'ome…"

"They'll be okay," I said, "At least they won't be chaotic the way they were before."

"Eet will be nice to not 'ave to worry about ze Dark Hour or Tartarus anymore," Bebe said with a contented smile.

"Yeah," I said softly, "I want you to see Port Island for its true beauty. That way you can feel at home…"

Bebe chuckled, placing his hand on my leg and rubbing it affectionately.

"Port Island already felt like 'ome because you were zere," he said, "Ze Shadows 'ad no effect on 'ow I perceived eet."

"Still… I want you to be able to feel like you can live a normal life. I want you to enjoy Japan and I want to be with you through every minute… With or without Shadows around, I always want to stay by your side and keep you safe," I told him, "And I won't let your uncle find you."

With a smile, he blushed and tucked his hair behind his ear shyly.

"Arigatou, Tetsuya…" he said quietly, "I would love zat very much… Even wiz all of 'is men, I don't zink zey are a match for y-"

"Excuse me."

Both of us looked up in unison at the voice addressing us, suddenly realizing that two young men stood beside us. At first, I didn't recognize them, but the silver jogged my memory back to the two officers who had helped us find the academy.

"O-Oh! You're the guys from before!" I exclaimed.

My friendly demeanor dropped immediately as I realized they both glared at me. The rusty-haired officer already seemed like an irritable person from my previous encounter, but his partner now wore the same frown. What the hell?

The rusty-haired officer held out an open wallet to flash a badge that I didn't quite get a good glimpse of before he pulled it away.

"We'd like a moment of your time if you don't mind," he said.

A sick feeling swept through my body, even though I knew I hadn't committed any sort of felony. The idea of an interrogation was stressful by itself, and the seemingly random decision to pull me to the side agitated me.

"Oh, for God's sake…" I groaned.

"T-Tetsuya? What's going on?" Bebe asked, having every right to panic the way he was.

"Nothing," I told him, "They just want to ask me some questions…"

"Actually," said the silver-haired officer, narrowing his eyes, "We want to speak with both of you. In private."

I stood up quickly, placing myself between the officers and Bebe. I wanted to put on a tough face, but I was still shorter than the silver-haired officer and about the same size as his partner. I would have to resort to my cold aura as a back-up defense.

"He hasn't done anything wrong," I snarled.

"Tetsuya…" Bebe murmured nervously, standing up and grasping my arm uncomfortably.

"That's an interesting phrase coming from a non-guilty conscience," the silver-haired officer said suspiciously.

"I was thinking the same thing," his partner responded, "Sounds like maybe we finally found what we've been looking for. I told you we wouldn't find anything just picking people from gates."

"Heyheyhey! What's going on here?"

Junpei came rushing to our aid, Aigis and Yukari keeping close behind him. Both of the girls appeared equally determined to back us up on anything, though they also seemed fearful of the situation unfolding.

"Oh yeah…" said the rusty-haired officer, "You're all together. I remember you from the international gates."

"Yeah, we found them by the _gates…_" his partner mumbled.

The rusty-hair officer whirled around to glare at him.

"Will you shut up?" he snarled.

"Okay, what the hell is going on? Isn't it part of our rights to be informed of our charges?" Yukari barked.

"Settle down, missy," the rusty-haired officer hissed, "We'll read you your rights once you come with us back to our office."

"That's not how that works, you asshole," I said, "If you were half the cop you claim to be, you'd know that."

"Tetsuya-!" Bebe scolded.

But the seemingly less-abrasive officer was suddenly in my face, his hand by his hip.

"Look, we can do this the easy way," he said, then pulling back part of his jacket to inconspicuously expose a Tazor, "Or we can use more persuasive methods. Whatever you want, I won't hesitate. The choice is yours."

"O-Okay, dude, calm down," his partner said nervously, "Put it away."

I have probably felt pain worse than anything that a Tazor could deal, but it's probably best if I don't take chances. We don't need to create a scene and disturb the innocent bystanders so pointlessly.

"Our consciences are clear," Bebe said to me quietly, "I don't see 'ow answering questions will 'urt…"

That is true, but I don't really want to stay in France any longer, especially knowing Bebe's uncle is out looking for him… Well… we're kind of in a bind at this point. I guess I just have to hope this won't take long…

"Okay, fine," I sighed, "Ask whatever you want."

The officer before me replaced the flap of his jacket, poker-faced but seeming slightly more content with my surrender. Both of them motioned for us to follow—Junpei, Yukari, and Aigis included since they were apparently accomplices in whatever we were in trouble for. We walked through the airport under the stares of various travelers, curious of and wrinkle-nosed at our status. When the torturous walk had finally ended with a small office in the back of the airport, things only got more interesting.

The silver-haired officer sat Junpei, Yukari and Aigis in one room with chairs against the wall and asked Bebe and me to sit in a room with a table and chairs. The two rooms were separated by cinderblocks with a thick door and a single window with blinds. All of us became antsy as the three of them were handcuffed to their respective chairs.

"We have questions for all of you, but we're starting with you two first," the silver-haired officer told us, "Since you evidently have the most interesting things to say."

"The hell does that mean?" I grumbled.

The more abrasive officer frowned and sharply pointed Bebe and me into the other room, so we reluctantly followed the silent orders. The others watched us warily, completely confused and terrified—Aigis in particular. I tried to give her my best reassuring look, but it wasn't even enough to convince me. I don't have a clue what's going to happen…

Both officers stepped into the room with us. The silver-haired officer placed a handcuff on my right wrist and the other on the arm of the chair. The feeling of being chained down was already so familiar to me that it felt like nothing, but it alarmed me when Bebe's face expressed anxiety as he was also handcuffed to his chair. The rusty-haired officer closed the blinds and shut the others out before directing his glare at us.

"Odd as your lingo might seem to most-" he started.

"Hey," I interrupted, "You said you'd tell us our charges. Don't forget your half."

Though they knew I was right, both of them appeared disgusted by the reminder. With a sigh to begin, the silver-haired officer said somberly,

"Right now, you're under investigation of a kidnapping."

My stomach dropped like lead at that moment as the final word rang through the following silence. Kidnapping…? … … …did… they mean… Bebe…? Oh, shit. His uncle has Japanese men too? What an incredible disguise… But… what was supposed to happen to us…? With me as the leader, and Junpei, Yukari, and Aigis as the accomplices… what was going to happen to Bebe? What were they even planning on doing with us? And how did they even find us out?

"K-Kidnapping?" Bebe stammered, on the same page as I was, "N-No! Zat's not-!"

"No, it's our turn now!" the rusty-haired officer barked, then at me when I started to stand in Bebe's defense, despite my handcuffs, "Sit down! You're both in some serious shit right now!"

"O-Okay! Can we hang on just a second?" I stammered, "I didn't mean any harm! I was more responsible for this than he was…"

The silver-haired officer slammed his hands on the table angrily.

"You're confessing to it?" he barked.

Well… they might spare me some mercy if I plead guilty. Plus I can explain my case, but… I can't seriously believe we're calling this kidnapping. Does it even count if Bebe's running away with me consensually? He's not even living under his uncle's roof, but I guess he could still make this look bad… Hell, I don't know how this works…

"W-Well… yes," I said quietly, "I-I didn't realize exactly how serious this was. I just wan-"

"You didn't realize kidnapping was serious? Are you shitting me right now?" the rusty-haired officer shrieked, "I can't believe this! What the hell were you thinking?"

"Honestly, I wasn't thinking about it this way… I didn't even understand the situation until I'd already come here," I said.

"Please don't 'urt Tetsuya…" Bebe said softly, "I will go of my own freewill…"

"The hell are you talking about? You're both involved here, as are the three out there," the silver-haired officer said tartly, "You're all under arrest."

What the hell-? How does that even make sense? Bebe was the one "kidnapped"!

"Whoa, whoa, why is he under arrest?" I asked.

"You seriously don't get how this works, do you?" the silver-haired officer asked, his fist clenched tightly upon the surface of the table, "He was an accomplice of yours. Do you really think he's at any less fault? For all we know, he could know where she is!"

… … … …she?

"Wh-Who…?" Bebe and I asked in unison.

Outraged, the officer started at us.

"DON'T YOU DARE PLAY DUMB WITH ME!" he screamed, "MY COUSIN! WHERE IS SHE?"

"C-Cousin?" Bebe asked.

The other officer slapped his hands down on the table.

"YOU HEARD HIM! SHORT, NINE-YEAR-OLD, BROWN-HAIRED GIRL! NANAKO DOJIMA! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU TOUCHED ONE HAIR ON HER HEAD-!"

Oh my God… They think we kidnapped a child…

"N-No, no, no!" I said quickly, "I think there's been some sort of mistake!"

"NO, YOU ASSHOLE, YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE IT BACK! YOU ALREADY CONFESSED TO IT!"

His partner stood up, trying to keep calm, though clearly losing his composure.

"Back in January…" he said through gritted teeth, "We were able to trace a flight from Yasoinaba to Nanparaux… Nanako's kidnapper was on that flight. We found traces of her DNA at the apartment where she was being held captive. We have evidence against you! So why were we unable to confirm that she was on that flight?"

"I don't know! We didn't do it!" I barked, "We're not involved in this case!"

"YOU PLED GUILTY!"

"Because I thought you were talking about him!" I cried, motioning at Bebe.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?" the rusty-haired officer screamed.

"What the hell are YOU talking about?" I shot.

"OH, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD-!"

"You 'ave to listen to us," Bebe pleaded, "We aren't ze ones you are looking for!"

"You're exactly the ones we've been looking for!" the officer roared, "Especially you, and you know what we're talking about!"

"No, I don't!" Bebe insisted, "What do you mean, 'especially me'? Tetsuya just came to bring me back to Japan! Zat's all! Zere's nozing else!"

"Well, of course we didn't think you were going to pull it all off on your own! No dainty little fairy like you could pull off a kidnapping without some sort of masculinity!"

"Yosuke!" the silver-haired officer gasped, but I was already in Bebe's defense. I stood up quickly, the chair dangling from my left arm heavily, but still off the ground two inches.

"That's it, you bastard-!" I started.

Before I could move or say anything else, the officer identified as Yosuke and his partner sat me back down quickly.

"Okay, JUST SIT!" the unnamed officer barked and then again at Bebe as he attempted to stand in my defense, "I understand as well as you do that that was uncalled for but you're not making things better for your case by acting out!"

"Oh, kiss my ass, you prick!" I snarled.

I felt a sharp blow to the back of my head delivered by Yosuke's hand. Immediately, a squeak came from Bebe's side of the room and all three of us turned to see him holding his head and holding back tears. What...?

"What the hell…?" Yosuke muttered.

"B-Bebe…? What happened?" I asked, concerned that he had also been hit.

"H-Hey! Stop playing mind games, okay? That doesn't work!" the officer barked.

"I'm not playing anyzing," Bebe whimpered, "My 'ead just started 'urting…"

"Hey, quit lying, alright?" Yosuke snarled, "You guys already got your asses into this mess, you'd might as well fess up to it! Do you honestly expect me to believe that just because you act like you're hurt when I hit him, that you'll pull off a long enough distraction? There are two of us here! You aren't getting anything past us! Why are you even acting all weird, anyway? You're not saving yourself from any trouble."

"Hey, hey, don't forget," his partner said to him calmly, "They know about the other world. Don't you find that interesting?"

They stared us down silently, deadly glares causing my heartbeat to slow. Other world…? What was happening?

"Is she in the TV?" Yosuke asked quietly.

Bebe and I were silent, trying to understand that phrase. I mean… what kind of question is that? "Is she in the TV?" Seriously? If I didn't know better, I'd think these two were idiots.

"Terebi…?" Bebe asked, confused as I was, "Why would she-?"

"I don't know! You tell me!" Yosuke combated.

"Are you out of your mind?" I barked, "Besides, why would we kidnap a child from a place we've never even heard of?"

"Why would you plead guilty to a case you weren't involved in?" the silver-haired officer shot.

"Why would she be in the TV?"

"Why would you pretend not to know after we already heard you?"

"You didn't hear anything, you ignorant prick! Will you get your head out of your ass for five minutes and hear us out?"

"Alright, that's enough!" Yosuke snarled, and then pointing at Bebe, "We know we heard you right! You don't just use that term in that context and have no idea what we're talking about!"

"What term?" he asked, finally starting to get pissed off with the accusations.

"You know which one!" the silver-haired officer barked, placing his hands on his hips, "Don't even start! We've dealt with people like you in the past! Don't think we haven't heard this stuff before! The only difference now is that WE'RE the authority!"

My eyes fell to the holster on the officer's hip and wheels began to turn in my head. Just before they'd approached us, Bebe and I had been discussing… … Wait… "Other world"… …did… they mean…?

"Y-You guys are Persona-users," I said, staggered.

Both officers looked at me.

"So you DO know?" Yosuke asked, "You're contradicting yourself a lot. First you're guilty, and then you're not. Then you don't know about the Shadows, and then you do. Are you a compulsive liar?"

"No."

The officers exchanged a glance, confused.

"Do we believe that…?" the officer asked.

"No idea…" Yosuke muttered.

"'Ow did you figure zat out…?" Bebe asked me quietly.

"We were talking about the Shadows before, remember?" I asked, "They must have overhead us. I pieced it together when I noticed his Evoker."

Bebe looked at the holster on the officer's hip, suddenly aware of the concealed item.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, "'Ow cleverly disguised!"

"What are you two going on about…?" Yosuke asked.

"Your Evoker," I said, "You have one too, don't you?"

"A what?" he asked, exchanging a nervous glance with his partner.

Did they call it something else?

"Y-You know. What you use to summon your Persona," I said.

"Hai. Evoker," Bebe said, holding his hand to his head as if to hold one and fire, "Bang, bang."

Both officers stumbled back, horrified by the gesture.

"WHAT? ARE YOU FRICKIN' INSANE?" Yosuke cried.

Oh, so they didn't know what it did. New Persona-users, maybe?

"No, seriously! It's not suicide!" I insisted, "I know it looks bad, but it's really okay! Our friend out there, Yukari, had a lot of trouble mustering up the courage to summon hers at first too. Do you have an extra one? I can show you."

"NO, YOU CRAZY BASTARD! WHAT THE HELL?" the silver-haired officer cried, completely lost of composure.

"Souji, call Chie and tell her to get her ass down here!" Yosuke said to his partner.

"Right!" Souji responded, quickly grabbing a walky-talky from his belt and speaking into it loudly with panic.

"Chie, you need to come down here immediately. We have a group of five suspects, two either suicidal or homicidal."

"No, no, no-!" I babbled quickly, "We're not crazy! Really!"

"ONLY CRAZY PEOPLE SAY THAT!" Souji yelled.

"No, that's how we all summon our Personae!" I insisted.

"YOU'RE A FRIGGIN PSYCHOPATH!" Yosuke cried.

"Evokers look like guns! I know eet's scary, but zey're not ze same!" Bebe promised.

Yosuke took the Evoker out of its holster and motioned at it.

"No, you moron! This is what the Japanese call a gun! GUN. Not Invoker-"

"Evoker."

"Whatever you psychopaths call it! This is nothing more than a gun! All police have th-"

"FREEZE!"

A crack exploded from the Evoker in Yosuke's hand, firing a bullet into the ceiling. Immediately, Souji flattened against the ground screaming, and Yosuke began to panic as well as Bebe and I. Oh shit, it was really a gun. And it was loaded. And he just fired a shot! Holy shit!

"Oh my God! What did you do?"

The voice that had initiated the fire belonged to a girl around the officer's age who had burst through the door wearing a feminine version of the police uniform. Her hair was extremely short and light brown, falling over the roundness of her scalp. Her cringing body seemed slightly athletic, as if she worked out regularly during her spare time and training. She looked at Yosuke in terror, though she held a gun in her own hands that could easily combat any of us.

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT! YOU SCARED ME!" Yosuke cried.

"You can't just fire a gun in an airport!" the girl cried, both angry and horrified.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING? HOLY SHIT, DID THEY JUST SHOOT ONE OF THEM?" Junpei's voice came shrieking from the other room.

"Tetsuya? Bebe? Are you okay?" Yukari asked nervously.

"We're okay!" I called back, "But we're getting the hell out of here!"

"Not you're not!" Yosuke yelled, pointing the gun at us, "And for the love of God, Souji, stop screaming like a pansy and man up!"

Souji's screaming didn't cease, and Bebe and I had begun screaming as well, terrified by the weapon aimed in our direction. Shit, that thing went off way too easy! Don't point it at us, you psycho! You can't handle a gun!

"Yosuke, put that down before you kill somebody!" the girl barked, "And don't talk to Souji-kun like that!"

"Chie, stop yelling at me! I'm in charge too!" Yosuke argued, "Dammit, Souji, shut the hell up and help us!"

Suddenly, Aigis burst into the room with her fingertips out, ready to begin firing or launch into Orgia mode.

"Unhand them immediately!" she shrieked, which caught both Chie and Yosuke off-guard, and the gun went off again.

In a flustered moment of panic, I recoiled sharply and flipped the chairs back to avoid the bullet, sending both Bebe and myself to the ground with a crash of the chairs as they landed on top of us after ejecting us. At that point, everyone was screaming bloody murder from the chaos going on in that tiny room.

"HOW DID YOU GET OUT?" Yosuke squealed, alarmed by Aigis' abrupt entrance.

"OH MY GOD! YOSUKE, PUT THE DAMN GUN DOWN!" Chie screamed.

I heard a heavy clunk as Yosuke disposed of the gun upon the table quickly.

"THAT THING IS DEFECTIVE! I BARELY TOUCHED THE TRIGGER!" Yosuke insisted.

"WHY ARE YOU SHOOTING? WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?" Aigis squealed, her hands over her headphones.

Souji continued to scream loudly into the floor, over and over again as he held his hands over his head to guard himself.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THERE? IS SOMEBODY GETTING SHOT? WHAT'S GOING ON?" Yukari shrieked.

"HOLY CRAP, PLEASE DON'T LET THIS BE HAPPENING!" Junpei begged.

Bebe started babbling something in French that sounded a little like a prayer, but I couldn't be sure. I kept my arm over him, trying to keep calm but hysterical due to the terrified screams around me. Screams were the only thing that I could even sense anymore; all other senses were almost dead at that moment. It wasn't until I saw another party enter that I finally saw a light.

One of the guards from the airport security rushed in aggressively, trying to put on a brave face though clearly horrified by the terror unfolding. He took a quick look around the room before looking at the officers with disgust.

"What the hell are you kids doing?" he barked.

"THE GUN JUST WENT OFF AND I DIDN'T EVEN TOUCH THE TRIGGER THAT MUCH!" Yosuke cried.

"Why are you even using a gun? Who the hell gave you kids guns?" the guard hollered, "You aren't even certified officers yet!"

…we were almost shot by these people who aren't even real cops? What in the name of God? My friends and I started screaming even more upon realizing this truth.

"HOLY SHIT!" Junpei squealed, and I heard a crashing that sounded like he had fallen out of his chair and dragged it on top of himself like Bebe and I.

"Please remain calm!" the guard said to us, seeming much calmer himself as he knew what he was dealing with, "I've got this under control. Just explain to me what's going on."

It took us about ten minutes after removing the handcuffs (except Aigis, who'd broken out of hers) to quiet down enough to calmly explain our situation. We had to explain that Bebe was coming back with us to get away from his uncle, which the guard assured us wasn't a kidnapping charge. Leaving out the details about the Shadows and Personae, we explained the interrogation. Meanwhile, Yosuke was sinking in his chair, realizing slowly that we really had been telling the truth and that we were innocent. Souji kept his eyes glued to the floor as Chie shook her head at her partners shamefully.

Once we had told our side of the story, Souji explained theirs timidly, saying that he thought he had overheard us speaking about something suspicious, but evidently misheard us. No one was having an easy time explaining why Yosuke pulled the gun, so the guard became frustrated and angry. I imagine what I felt as the three officers were chewed out was that inexplicably elated feeling someone feels when a sibling gets disciplined. Not that I know what it feels like having siblings, but I can imagine it feels a little like this.

The satisfaction didn't last long, especially since the interview went on for hours. By the time the guard was ready to let us go, we had long since missed our flight. Bebe sighed apprehensively, realizing that meant having to stay in France longer. Courteously, the guard offered to book us another flight free of charge, but found that the rest of the day's flights for our destination were completely booked. We were stuck here for another day at least… jeez. And I knew Bebe was feeling sick about it. He could hardly contain his agony as he fidgeted in his seat.

Sincerely apologizing for the inconvenience, the guard allowed us to go free. Before we left, the guard turned to the officers, addressing Souji specifically.

"I understand your uncle trusts you all with this case, and I send him my sincerest condolences for his daughter's situation, but I refuse to let you stay here if you're going to endanger lives," he said.

"W-Wait a second!" Yosuke cried, "You're not kicking us out, are you?"

"I'm sorry, but you can't look here anymore. Go out and search somewhere else. Besides, haven't you been here for over a month?"

"Y-Yeah, but we thought we were onto something!" Chie stammered, clearly devastated by the banishment.

"You're not," the guard said.

"But-!" Souji started, standing up.

"I don't want to hear any more!" the guard barked, "All three of you, get out of here! You're lucky you didn't cause a bigger panic that involved an evacuation!"

The five of us finally decided to leave the officers to their fate as we headed out of the airport, seeing that we had no more reason to stay. The bustle outside was noisy, but it seemed so tranquil in comparison to the hectic hell we'd just been through. We stood outside the door dumbly for a moment, trying to gather our intelligence to speak up.

Surprisingly, the first was Junpei.

"…okay. What the HELL just went down…?" he asked.

"Well…" Yukari sighed, "I think we're stuck here until tomorrow. I can call Mitsuru-senpai later and tell her what happened. Maybe she can get us a jet tomorrow."

We moved out of the other travelers' way, sitting on the cold concrete beside the building. I let out a sigh, looking upwards.

"Looks like we have to stay in a hotel tonight…" I said, "Any idea if there are any close to the airport?"

"Probably…" Yukari said, rubbing her face.

Bebe buried his face against my arm.

"I wanna go 'ome…" he murmured, exhausted.

"I know, Bebe," I said softly, "Tomorrow…"

"I can't just keep living 'ere like zis…" he muttered, his voice tight as if to cry.

Quickly, I turned to him and held him tightly. The others began to worry as well, attempting to comfort him.

"B-Bebe, oh my God, please don't cry," Junpei stuttered.

"It's okay! We'll get home soon!" Aigis cried, wrapping her arms around Bebe as well, even though he hadn't actually started crying.

"We won't let your uncle take you back, Bebe," Yukari said, stroking his hair back.

The doors of the airport opened again, familiar voices complaining as the three left slowly.

"Dammit, Yosuke, do you ever think about what you're doing?"

Chie scolded him angrily, but she seemed far too crestfallen by the expulsion to raise her voice.

"I didn't even realize it wasn't safety locked…" Yosuke murmured, "Shit, that was so scary…"

"Yeah, and now we're back at square one. Thanks a lot."

"Hey, I'm not happy about it either! Do I look like I'm skipping out of the airport with a smile on my face? No! I didn't want to get kicked out any more than you did!"

"I don't want to start over…" Souji said softly, "We've wasted so much time already… I just want to find Nanako and get her back home where she's safe…"

"Aw, Souji-kun, it'll be okay. We saved her once, we can do it again…" Chie said, attempting to comfort Souji with her kind words and a gentle rub on the shoulder.

The officers paused for a moment and then looked in our direction. All five of us adverted our attention immediately, wanting nothing to do with them anymore. Please don't say anything. Please go away…

"Hey."

Dammit.

"Let's go, guys," I said, starting to stand.

The others stood with me, but the officer got to us before we could move any further.

"W-Wait, hold on," Yosuke said, clearly nervous about our mood, "Do you have a minute?"

"You guys took our minutes," I spat, "Now we're stuck here avoiding the mafia until we can get a flight tomorrow. I guess we're totally free for the rest of the day, if that's what you're asking."

"We're really sorry…" Chie murmured, "Look… I… I know it doesn't make up for anything, but if you want, Yosuke will buy you lunch."

Yosuke and Souji both looked at her abruptly. Souji seemed desperate to speak up, but held back out of principle. My guess is that he might have spoken up if he didn't feel as guilty as his partners. Yosuke also seemed like he wanted to argue, but was also shackled down by guilt. Reluctantly, he nodded to confirm that he was willing to pay. I seem to remember them discussing a lack of money before when Souji was giving us directions to the academy.

…ergh… Even though they got us stuck in France, I guess we were a major factor in what got them kicked out of the airport. If all we have to do is stay in France for another day, it's not that big of a deal. They, on the other hand, are probably having a worse day than we are, considering they lost their lead and have far less than we do. Even though I'm pissed beyond belief, I can't help but feel a little bad as well.

"N-… No… if anything, I should be taking you guys out. I mean, you lost your position because we insisted upon the… you know," I muttered.

The officers looked around awkwardly.

"You're… offering to take us out after we made you miss your plane and shot at you…?" Souji asked, "Are you sure you don't want to rethink that…?"

"Yeah, are you sure…?" Junpei muttered under his breath.

I sighed, rolling my eyes a little.

"It's fine," I assured them, "It's not like it's a lot out of my wallet. Besides, we don't have anything better to do."

Souji gave me a half-smile.

"That's very kind of you," he said awkwardly, "I, um… I think all of us need to talk anyway, seeing that… well… we have similar situations, I guess."

This was true… If we're looking at another group of Persona-users, that means they had dealings with Shadows. …what the hell? I thought I'd sacrificed my soul to Nyx to destroy them or something. What kind of shit bargain was that? It's imperative that we talk to them. We need to know what's going on.

* * *

The five of us sat across from the three officers at a large round table, slouching lethargically in our defeat and misery. The restaurant was neither cheap nor expensive, as I didn't want to be a cheapskate and the officers didn't want to impose. We were eating inside for Bebe's sake, as I wanted him to settle down and eat without looking around himself or worrying that one of his uncle's lackeys might spot him. The waitress came by to take drink orders, and most of us ordered either water or coffee. When she looked to Yosuke, he murmured,

"Beer."

Souji shot him a dirty look.

"Water," he argued, "Alcohol is expensive here. And you know I don't like dealing with you when you're drunk."

Yosuke rolled his eyes, but reordered anyway.

We waited for the waitress to leave before looking back at each other uncomfortably. I wasn't sure if I should speak or wait for them, ad I really didn't know how to talk to them about this subject. Souji seemed to be battling with the same emotions, so I knew he wouldn't be the first to speak. Instead, I looked to Chie and Yosuke, who stared the table down.

"So, um…" Yosuke started, "You guys are heading to Tatsumi Port Island…?"

"Yeah, that's where we all came from," Junpei said, even a little awkward himself.

"W-We went there a few years ago on a school trip," Chie said, "We were doing an exchange with Gekkoukan High."

"Oh! That's the school we attended!" Yukari said, "We graduated from there in the spring of 2011. Well… except Tetsuya and Bebe. But they went there for their junior year."

"Huh… that's the year we went," Yosuke said, "But I think it might've been after you graduated. It was a day off for the Gekkoukan students, so we probably wouldn't have seen you anyway."

"Still, small world," Chie said pensively, then in a friendlier manner, "I'm Chie Satonaka, by the way."

"I'm Yosuke Hanamura," Yosuke said.

"And I'm Souji Seto," Souji said.

We introduced ourselves formally to the officers, ending with Bebe. Souji looked at the two of us curiously.

"So you're taking him home with you…?" he asked, "I take it you're close…?"

"H-Hai," Bebe responded timidly, "We're very close…"

"Aw, that's great, you guys," Chie said with a smile, "My girlfriend came with us to France. I think she's around sightseeing. I wish I could introduce you to her."

"Can you just call her Yukiko, please…?" Yosuke muttered, "Something about the way you refer to her as your 'girlfriend' really rubs me the wrong way…"

"Really, Yosuke? I did not know that. I apologize."

"Drop the smartass."

"Drop the homophobe."

The waitress stopped by with our drinks and took our meal orders, disappearing as quickly as she came. I watched to assure that she was completely out of earshot, even though she probably doesn't know a word of Japanese. I just want to be on the safe side before speaking up again.

"So… you guys know about the Shadows…?" I asked.

Those who had been in the other room and Chie looked at me suddenly.

"They're Persona-users?" Aigis asked.

"Why didn't you guys tell me?" Chie asked Souji and Yosuke scoldingly.

"Because I fired a bullet into the ceiling and all hell broke loose?" Yosuke responded flatly.

"Ah, that's right."

"When did you encounter the Shadows?" Souji asked.

It took a long time for us to fully explain everything. We started by explaining the origins of the Shadows and how they nested in our school, only to reveal the tower of Tartarus during the twenty-fifth hour of the day. We explained that S.E.E.S. originally consisted of Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Shinjiro; Yukari came along later, then me, Junpei, Fuuka, Aigis, Koromaru, Ken, and Bebe. After the food came, we finished explaining our struggle during that year and, ultimately, what ended in my death.

"Wait, you were dead for four years?" Yosuke asked, nearly choking on a morsel, "That's kinda creepy, dude. What made you decide to come back?"

"If I'd had any decisions, I wouldn't have died in the first place," I said with a frown, "We wouldn't be in such a mess otherwise."

"What about you guys?" Junpei asked, "When were you involved with the Shadows?"

"Mm… three years ago…?" Chie said contemplatively.

"So… only a year after we had defeated Nyx?" Aigis asked, "That seems strange…"

"Yeah, it was really unexpected," Yosuke said, "I'd only been in Inaba for six months, and I already knew it was one of those boring places where nothing ever happens."

"And as soon as I moved there, a series of strange murders began occurring," Souji said.

"Murders…?" Bebe asked, "Ze Shadows were killing?"

"Well… yes and no," Souji said, "The Shadows did the actual killing, but they had help. We were pretty young, but we caught on before the police did. It took us forever to figure out who the real culprit was. We even had a guy claiming he was the killer. It threw us off really bad. Especially when people continued showing up on the Midnight Channel."

"Midnight Channel?"

"The Midnight Channel was an urban legend circling Inaba. If you stared into a television on a rainy night, you'd see your soulmate. But we figured out pretty quickly that the people we were seeing were the victims. We were able to save Yukiko, and then everyone else who had been thrown in after. Unfortunately, we didn't know enough to save the first two…"

Yosuke cleared his throat and fidgeted.

"What about your cousin…? You said something about saving her once," I said.

"She was the last victim thrown in before we caught the murderer," Souji said, "Unfortunately, she was also the youngest, and so she got really sick. In a way… she's like you. She died, and then… half an hour later, she was alive again."

"Yeah, we were kinda going batshit crazy when we thought we had the murderer after she died. We were about ready to murder him the way he murdered her. Thank God we had Souji as the voice of reason…" Yosuke sighed.

"Then again, that's why we made him our leader," Chie said with a smile, "Always calm in crazy situations. …besides this one."

We laughed a little and Souji ducked his head in shame.

"Eh, I think we all lost our cool back there," I assured him.

"Tetsuya doesn't usually panic eizer," Bebe said, "Zat's why 'e was our leader."

"I thought it had more to do with the fact that I had multiple Personae," I said flatly.

"I have multiple Personae as well," Aigis said, "And I was leader in Tetsuya's absence. I've begun to notice a pattern…"

Souji looked at Chie and Yosuke quickly.

"Wait, was THAT the reason you made me leader?" he asked, almost offended.

"Dude, we didn't even know until we went to rescue Yukiko and you had both Izanagi and that slime thing," Yosuke said, "Calm down."

"Wow, who knew the Wild Card ability was so popular?" Yukari asked, impressed with Souji.

"Not that it's doing us any good," Souji sighed, "We haven't been able to use any of our Personae in this case. I'm not entirely convinced it has nothing to do with the Shadows, but we've been here since January and haven't found any Shadow activity. Until then, we have to assume this is just crafty work."

"Why do you think the Shadows would be involved at all…?" I asked.

"I… I can't really explain it. It's like… trying to figure this all out without considering that possibility is impossible. The kidnapper left behind so little evidence aside from a few finger prints from Nanako, a hair sample from him, and a copy of a confirmed flight to Nanparaux. We don't know if we're looking for someone from Japan or someone from France, so it's frustrating… Like I said before, the flight only confirmed one passenger, which we assume was him. My Uncle and his team are doing everything they can back in Inaba, and they sent the four of us here."

"The fourth being… Yukiko, right?" Yukari asked.

"She's actually not in training like us," Chie said, "But I guess you could say that Dojima trusted her since she was one of the eight involved with tracking down the murderer three years ago. Souji actually talking about one of our other partners, Naoto-kun. So… five of us in total."

"Where's Naoto-san…?" Bebe asked.

"I dunno," Yosuke shrugged, "Naoto's an independent worker. A damn good one, too. More of a professional than we'll ever be."

Souji let out a breath slowly, closing his eyes.

"Even with Naoto, we're still completely stuck…" he said, "I get more and more worried every morning we wake up without Nanako back home. She's my closest relative, and I won't be able to live with myself if we can't find her… The point is… we're running out of corners to search…"

He looked at me and then back down quickly at his food, picking at it shyly. It bothers me that this child has been missing for so long. Out of courtesy, I can't just say that in cases like this, the abducted child doesn't usually turn up alive. Besides, his situation is similar to mine when I went looking for Bebe. I'm sure he doesn't want to hear everyone around him expressing their doubts until he knows for sure if she's okay.

I… I want to help him, but… I know Bebe is afraid to stay here any longer. I'll always be on his side no matter what. Besides, I don't know how much I can help. I don't even know if I can still summon a Persona, since Aigis evidently inherited Orpheus and the rest of my compendium. I looked over at Bebe, who stared intensely at his fork, examining each prong thoroughly as it rested against the plate. He looked up at me, realizing at once that I'd been watching him. He looked back at the officers, standing and bowing politely.

"Sumimasen," he said apologetically, "Could you excuse us for a moment?"

By "us", I know he means me too.

I stood and followed Bebe to the back towards the restrooms. His step and manner were anxious—conflicted. He stopped between the men's and women's restrooms and looked at me hesitantly.

"You're zinking eet too… aren't you?" he asked.

"You want to help them?" I asked.

"H-Hai," Bebe responded softly, "Demo… I don't know… if eet's okay wiz you. I imagine you want to go 'ome as soon as possible."

"I want to go wherever you go," I said, "And I know you want to go home."

"I know eet's not our place to get involved, demo… I can't 'elp but feeling like zey need us more zan anyzing," Bebe said, "I just… I wanted to know your feelings as well."

He stared at me longingly and I understood what answer he wanted to hear. He's a brave person, willing to get involved in something that wasn't his problem. Then again, I suppose the same could be said about getting involved with us. The difference is that he has a choice and he's opting to put himself in harm's way for a group of people we've known all of a few hours. He's willing to stay in Nanparaux, a place where he's living in constant paranoia, just to aid in the search for a child we've never even seen before.

…when you think about it, it's pretty admirable.

I smiled a little at him, ruffling his hair.

"You're so sweet," I cooed.

He blushed awkwardly and stared at his feet.

"Eet's no problem eizer way…" he said, "I didn't sign ze lease on my apartment, so we still 'ave a place to stay if we choose to 'elp…"

"I'm by you forever," I promised, "If you want to help them, let's help."

He smiled finally.

"Honto? You're sure?"

"Absolutely. I'm home as long as I'm with you. And… to be honest, I like it here a lot. I don't mind staying a little longer. Like I always tell you, I'll protect you from anything…"

Bebe grinned, unable to hide the blush that spread all over his face that he buried against my shoulder as he hugged me.

"Arigatou, Tetsuya… eet makes me very 'appy to 'ear you say zat…"

He pecked me on the lips once before stating that we should go back and offer our help to the officers. Hand-in-hand, we walked back to the table that had begun a conversation about the area. The looked up at us once we returned, curious as to why we had left in the first place. Bebe released my hand and smiled at them shyly.

"A-Ano… we'd like to stay and help you," he said.

Everyone at the table sat up immediately.

"What?" Yukari exclaimed.

"We want to help you find your cousin," I said, "If this really does have to do with the Shadows, we want to offer whatever help we can. You're gonna need more than five people, for sure."

"Y-You'd really help us find Nanako…?" Souji stammered, touched by our offer, "Are you sure you want to do that? I mean, we've been here for four months already and haven't found much…"

"You found us. The more people helping the better," I said, "Besides, we've had different experiences with the Shadows. Maybe we can pull information together to figure this out."

I looked back to my friends with a half-smile.

"I'm sorry, but Bebe and I are choosing to stay and help. You guys go ahead and head home without us. Junpei, I wish you and Chidori the best. Yukari, Aigis, I-"

"What, we don't get a say in this?" Junpei asked with a slight frown, then grinning, "I don't mind staying and helping out. Other than Chidori, fighting Shadows is the best thing I've done with my life. I'm up for staying and helping."

"What the hell, Junpei?" Yukari said disapprovingly, "You're supposed to be getting married to her soon."

"Well… as long as I tell her what's going on, I'm sure she'll be okay," Junpei said, "Besides, if I tell Chidori I'm helping someone save a little girl, I might get brownie points. She likes a hero."

"Are you kidding me right now? I would dump you for doing this right before the wedding."

"And that's why I'm the one getting married and not you."

"Ouch," Yosuke piped up.

Aigis stood up and went to me, frowning.

"If you think you're leaving my sight again for a second, you're insane," she said, "I promised to always stay by your side. I won't let you die again. I will protect you."

Bebe took my hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Oh, we're promising ze same zing, Aigis-sama," he said, something off about his tone, "Eezn't zat nice?"

"Yes. Yes it is," Aigis responded flatly, taking my other hand and squeezing it harder. I could feel my bones straining beneath her grip. God, is this what it's like holding the hand of a woman in labor? I never relished in imagining how that felt… Bebe winced slightly, but continued to smile, tightening his hold.

Yukari turned to the officers with a half-smile.

"Well… it looks like we're all in," she said, "That is, as long as we're allowed to help."

Chie had begun wiping at her cheeks with the backs of her sleeves, attempting to conceal her tears.

"You guys…" she whimpered.

Souji smiled and got to his feet, standing before us and bowing respectfully.

"Thank you…" he said softly, "You have no idea how much this means to me… to all of us…"

"Yeah, we can't thank you guys enough," Yosuke responded with a smile, "Especially you, Junpei, with the wedding and everything. And Bebe, even though your uncle is Al Capone."

Bebe chuckled.

"As long as I 'ave Tetsuya beside me, Uncle cannot touch me," he said proudly.

"You've got us too," Souji said, "We're police-in-training. We can make sure nobody messes with you. We just have to flash a trainee badge and they'll back off.

"It's hardly a badge," Chie laughed, "It's a little sticker on a card."

We laughed with her, sharing mutual emotions. Even if we're not going home just yet, I feel like things are going to be okay. Bebe and I are still living under one roof. We're still together. And before we set off to start our lives together, we get to have one last adventure. I just hope that the Shadows really aren't involved. If they are, there's no knowing just how dangerous things will really get. I suppose that only time will tell…


	9. Backup

**Rendezvous**

**Chapter Eight – Back-Up**

I stood in the courtyard before the tree again, staring up at the large and numerous branches in wonder. The cherry blossoms lay in a rotting carpet of petals at my feet, starting to blend with the earth. Most of the leaves still remained on the limbs, but several were beginning to fall. The ones still in place drooped sadly, appearing soft and damp as they waited to join those flopping limply to the ground. Bitter cold nipped at my cheeks, despite the fact that it was spring.

Why do I return to this…? What's wrong with this tree? I walked to the trunk, placing my hand against the bark. I don't know why, but I felt that by touching it I could establish a connection with the tree and see if I could diagnose a problem. As my palm rested flat against the trunk, a heavy pulse coursed through my arm.

_Tetsuya Saito…_

A woman's voice rang through my head and I quickly withdrew my hand in shock. I looked around the area, trying to find the source of the voice but unable to find a thing. I looked up at the tree again. Did it… speak to me…? This tree… has a life… and…

* * *

Light faded into view as my eyelids opened slowly to a familiar room. I blinked twice before fully opening my eyes to check out my surroundings and remember where I was, which I quickly identified as Bebe's apartment. Well… _our_ apartment now. Bebe's lucky to have so many people willing to take care of him around here. If I had to guess, he's probably very grateful to have the help, but I'm sure he's disappointed that he's not doing all of it alone…

He curled up against my chest, facing me in his sleep again. Amazing how little time it took him to readjust to sleeping beside me, but I suppose the same could be said about myself… Although, I'm starting to get concerned about these reoccurring dreams… Though the growing pains seem to have come to a halt since finding him, the dreams continue to get stranger and more mysterious. I can't really complain as long as Ryoji stays out of them, but still…

With a sigh, I looked back at the clock and realized that the alarm would sound shortly. I prefer a more peaceful awakening, so I turned it off and gently pressed my lips to Bebe's forehead to wake him carefully.

"Hey," I whispered, "Time to get up."

Bebe stirred and let out a tiny moan before opening his eyes to me and smiling.

"Ohayoo…" he said sleepily.

"Did you sleep okay?"

"Mm."

He curled up closer, gripping my sleeping shirt while looking up at me with a faint smile. He's always been such a sweetheart. I stroked his arm and pecked his nose.

"Are you ready to start the day?"

"I guess so…" he responded with a melancholy sigh, "But I wish I could spend ze day 'ere wiz you…"

"You have class today, right…?"

"Ergh… hai… not until later zis afternoon, zough…"

I smiled at him, pecking his cheek.

"Well… we still have the rest of the morning," I told him, "And then I can walk you to class to make sure you get there okay."

He smiled back at me, finally completely awake, and kissed me on the lips.

"Arigatou, mon chéri," he said sweetly.

Placing my hand on his cheek, I kissed him, longer and much more passionately as he began to kiss me back. His arms wrapped around me and his hands stroked through my hair lovingly as he let out a little moan. I can get used to waking up like this every morning…

Almost immediately, my cell phone let out a startling ring, snapping us out of our moment of bliss. Angrily, I snatched it up to silence it when I saw the caller's name. …dammit, that's right. I almost forgot. I answered it stormily and grumbled into the receiver,

"Hey, Yosuke…"

"_Yo," _said the more alert voice on the other line, _"You guys awake yet?" _

"What do you think?" I spat.

"_Ooh. You don't sound like a morning person. You're so much fun already."_

"I'm not in the mood to talk to a smartass. Is Souji there?"

"_Nice. Yeah, he's here. Chie and Yukiko, too. Naoto's still out solo, so it's just us today."_

"Yaay."

Bebe laughed and curled up against my chest.

"_Listen, I was talkin__g with Souji last night about his intuition about the Shadows being involved, and… honestly, I don't think it's too farfetched. We came up with an idea last night, and we think it would be best if you guys went with us."_

"Went with you where?" I asked.

"_The department store. There's supp__osedly a huge electronics section, and we figured it would be perfect."_

"Perfect for what?"

"_Perfect for- …you know what, get your ass out of bed and get down here. I'm not playing 20 Questions with you."_

"Fine, fine. Do you want me to call everyone else?"

"_Actually, yeah. I think that would be a good idea. They need to be involved too."_

"Alright. See you there…" I sighed, hanging up without waiting for a response.

"First mission?" Bebe asked with a small grin.

"Yeah, yeah," I responded, "We gotta get dressed and head over to the department store."

"Eh? Why zere?"

"Who knows? They have some idea involving the electronics department or something… Anyway, we should probably just meet them down there as soon as we can. I gotta let everyone else know what we're doing…"

Bebe sighed and painfully flipped the covers off, dragging himself to his dresser to pick out a change of clothes. While he dressed, I called Yukari to let her know we were heading down to the department store and that we would meet them there. Afterwards, I also dressed and headed out with Bebe wearily.

After he locked the door to the apartment, he looked over towards the neighbor's door for an extended amount of time. His brow furrowed as he gazed around the quiet exterior, scanning every inch of it thoroughly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He looked back at me calmly, but the way he frowned confirmed his concern.

"Eet's nozing. I'm sure everyzing eez fine," he said quietly.

Though still bothered, he didn't elaborate on the situation, so I figure it's best if I just drop it. It'll save us time in the long run, but I can't help wondering what's on his mind.

* * *

When we finally got to the department store, we found Souji, Yosuke, and Chie waiting outside for us. With them was a calm young woman with long ebony hair that fell just to her waist. Her mostly red outfit was casual, highly contrasting the other three in dark uniforms. She was the first to spot us, though her black eyes scanned past, unaware that we were the ones she was looking for.

Yosuke noticed us second, waving at us.

"Yo," he said, "It's about time you guys got here. We've been waiting long enough… Where's everyone else…?"

"They're getting here…" I grumbled, "Give them some time…"

"Jeez, are you still half-asleep?"

"I'm awake, thank you."

"Then what's your problem?"

"Nothing…"

Yosuke shook his head, rolling his eyes and turning away from me. Chie took the hand of the girl beside her, leading her to where we stood eagerly.

"Guys, this is my girlfriend, Yukiko," she smiled happily, shooting Yosuke a quick glare when he groaned, "Yukiko, this is Tetsuya and Bebe."

Yukiko bowed respectfully to us, her hair falling past her shoulders and then back as she stood straight again.

"It's very nice to meet you," she said with a modest smile, "Sorry to disturb you."

"Yukiko, seriously, stop apologizing to people when I introduce you," Chie muttered.

"N-No, no, eet's okay," Bebe assured the two.

"Yeah, Yosuke's the one who disturbed us," I said flatly.

"You dick," Yosuke shot, glaring in my direction.

Yukiko giggled, and then quickly regained her composure.

"S-Sorry," she said quietly, retaining a small grin.

"Yukiko-san, if you don't mind me saying so, you're very pretty," Bebe said cutely, "You could be a geisha."

Her fair cheeks went red as she looked down awkwardly, flattered but unsure of what to do with the compliment.

"O-Oh! Um… n-no, not really…" she stammered.

"Oh, come on," Chie chuckled, "He's complimenting you. And I have to agree with him."

Yosuke let out a groan of disgust and Chie shot a glare at him.

"You want another critical hit to the nads?" she snapped, and Yosuke fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Guys, come on," Souji hissed, "We're here for business. Enough of the friendly chat and ball busting."

"Yeah, yeah, Souji's right," Yosuke said, "We should head on inside. Everyone else will show up soon anyway."

Without another minute to hesitate, the six of us stepped through the automatic sliding doors of the department store together, looking around in awe at the different sections. Everything was divided cleanly by clothes, food, pharmacy, office supplies, and other various categories. I've never seen a store so big before. Even Bebe, who lives here, seems fascinated by the seemingly endless aisles.

"Jeez, this place is almost the size of Junes," Chie said quietly.

"Almost," Yosuke repeated, faintly defensive.

"I said almost!"

"Yosuke-kun's father manages the local department store back in Inaba," Yukiko explained to us quietly, "I think he's very proud of it, even though he chose not to take up the family business. It shocked a lot of people around town. Family businesses are kind of a big deal to everyone else."

"Not to be too forward, but are you taking up your family's business?" I asked.

Yukiko nodded.

"Yes. I'm training to take over my family's inn," she said.

"I zought for sure you were a shrine maiden, but I can also picture zat," Bebe chirped.

"You know she's taken, yes?" Yosuke asked, "The Amagi challenge has been long over, thanks to Chie."

Bebe's face reddened.

"I know zat! I'm 'appy wiz Tetsuya!" he insisted defensively, and I couldn't conceal a smile.

"Seriously," Souji snapped, "We're not here to play around. This is serious."

"Well, okay then!" Chie announced enthusiastically, "This was your idea, so lead the way."

Souji rolled his eyes and started checking signs that hung from the ceiling, I assume in search for the electronics department for whatever reason. Before I could even glance at a sign, he was already heading off to the left side of the store. The rest of us started quickly as we struggled to match his pace.

"Hey, you seriously don't have to run," I said, "It's not going anywhere."

He didn't respond, possibly even moving faster. What a dick.

"Souji, slow down," Yosuke muttered, "It's a department, not Nanako-chan."

We kept walking quickly, but in no time at all, Souji was with the rest of us again. The hell was that all about?

By the time I caught a glimpse of the televisions, DVD players, and other various electronics, the others in the group had already changed their moods and had begun acting suspicious. Shiftily, their eyes darted about the area in search of something that left Bebe and me outcast. Bebe looked over at me with concern, also aware of the change in the group's behavior as we drew nearer.

A sigh of relief waved over the group as we approached the quiet electronics department.

"Okay," Souji said in a low voice, "Let's get this over with. Girls start on those displays, Yosuke and I will start on these ones."

"What about us?" Bebe asked.

"Just keep watch," Yosuke told us, "That's all you really can do."

"All we really can do?" Oh, hell no, I didn't just walk all the way down here to be debased and serve as a lookout. I didn't spend the last year of my life slaying Shadows for nothing, dammit. The others left us behind and began browsing television sets meticulously. One after another, they appeared dissatisfied by what the sets had to offer and moved onto the next.

"Seriously? We came here to shop for a television set? Why the hell do we have to keep watch like it's some sort of sneaky act?" I asked Bebe quietly.

"I heard that," Yosuke piped up.

"I'm just saying that I don't get what we're looking for in the electronics section of a department store. What could possibly aid us here?" I asked.

"Will you stop being so skeptic?" Yosuke hissed, "Jeez, you're the one who insists upon sticking a loaded gun to your head."

"It's an Evoker, dumbass. I don't even know what you are."

Bebe patted my arm.

"Eet's okay, Tetsuya. Zey're newer to zeir power zan we are, so zey probably know zings we don't," he said.

"Well, the same could be said on our behalf since we had experience first," I mumbled, "Besides, if their encounter was so different from ours, then who's to say these Shadows wouldn't be totally different from either of ours?"

Souji continued peering into television screens curiously despite my logical point.

"And what exactly are you doing? Looking for one showing the news?" I asked.

Souji shot a glare at me and it felt as if a trickle of ice water had traced my spine as I caught a good look at the steel silver in his eyes.

"Just trust us," he said, "We're not as stupid as you think."

Chie also began to join in the search, and Yukiko followed shortly after. She pointed at a fairly large television quizzically.

"Do you think this one is big enough?" she asked, "I mean, it's a flat-screen, but…"

"Flat-screen doesn't matter. The last one was a flat-screen…" Souji mumbled, "It's perfect as long as the screen is wide enough…"

What did any of it matter? Why was the television important at all? I'm completely lost and growing a little nervous about what we're doing here… Suddenly, I'm starting to feel like this is actually going somewhere.

Souji walked to the large flat-screen, eyeing the size carefully and measuring it mentally.

"It seems to be okay. Should I try calling him?" he asked.

"Go ahead," Yosuke said.

"Calling him? You have more backup?" I asked, "God, how many do you have?"

"He's different," Yosuke said, "Like… really different. He isn't a part of the police force or anything, but he should be able to help us out a lot. I can't believe we didn't think of him before, to be honest."

Souji looked back at Bebe and me hesitantly.

"Just… don't… freak out. The last thing we need is for you to cause a scene," he said, "Promise?"

I have no idea what he's up to, but it's probably best to go along with it. I nodded hesitantly.

"We promise," Bebe said.

Souji turned back to the TV, ducking down a little as if to level with the TV screen.

"Teddie… are you there?" he called quietly.

"Oh, what the hell-?" I started.

"SHH! Just be quiet!" Yosuke barked.

Despite myself, I kept my mouth shut as Yosuke wanted me to. Still, calling someone through a TV looks a little insane. Yeah, we shoot ourselves in the heads with gun-like devices, but talking to televisions is just as crazy. Probably.

As to be expected, there was no response besides the French infomercial on the screen. The others looked at each other hesitantly, likely realizing that they appeared strange to Bebe and me.

"Crap…" Souji grumbled, "I don't think he's here… I mean, this thing could lead anywhere. Who knows how large the other side is?"

"Try it again," Yosuke said, "Maybe… so he can smell you."

He glared at me before I could even facially express my feelings on that bizarre and almost suggestive statement.

Looking back and forth again, Souji sighed and leveled his eyes with the television, lifting his hand to the screen. As his fingers spread and his palms pressed against the glass, the picture became wavy and blurred.

And then his hand went through the screen.

Bebe stumbled back a step, and Yosuke gave us both a look.

"Heyheyhey! You promised!" he hissed.

I peeked around the back of the television to look for Souji's submerged hand, just to make sure this wasn't some strange trick. But his hand wasn't there… His hand really went through the TV… What was this?

"What the hell-?"

Souji's arm bobbed a little, as if to beckon someone closer.

"Come on, Teddie… where are you…?" he muttered under his breath.

He continued this maneuver for about three minutes before I began to get impatient and even a little paranoid. Not only did he look completely ridiculous, but… he's doing this in public. What if someone walks past? Bebe and I have seen our share of weird crap, but the customers and staff are far less exposed.

"Okay, what are we doing?" I asked, "Are we not concerned that he's got his hand through a TV screen in public?"

"Who are we calling?" Bebe asked.

Yosuke smiled a bit proudly, as if he were the one with his hand in the TV.

"We told you. We're calling in an old friend of ours," he said again, "If anyone can help us with what's going on with the Shadows, Teddie can. As bad as it sounds, it might actually be better for us if the case DOES involve the Shadows. I guess you could say Teddie's a sort of… specialist."

I began piecing bits and pieces of information together, eventually drawing a conclusion that embarrassed me as it left my mouth with a hint of stupidity.

"Wait… so… he's… actually inside the TV?" I asked, "Why is he-?"

"OW!" Souji cried out, withdrawing his hand quickly. He sat back on the floor, holding tightly to his hand.

"Souji-kun! Doushita no?" Bebe asked, immediately at his side along with Yukiko and Chie.

"Crap, shit, dammit, son of a bitch, FFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU-!"

Souji continued to spew colorful profanities that I eventually just tuned out to look at the television. It still looked perfectly normal to me… What went wrong…?

"Did you get electrocuted?" Bebe asked worriedly, "'As zat ever 'appened before?"

"What happened, Souji-kun?" Yukiko asked.

Souji gingerly removed his hand from the one that had been submerged in the television, only to reveal deep bite marks from some sort of large animal. Nothing that pierced the skin, but it looked painful nonetheless.

"Wha-? Again?" Chie groaned, "Jeez…"

"Oh, dammit, Teddie!" Yosuke roared, turning to the television angrily.

"Hey! Get out here, you stupid bear! I ought to beat the crap out of you!"

The television began to make some static noises and the picture acted like crappy digital television during a storm.

"_Yosuke…? Sensei…?"_

The image on the screen was still screwed up, but the voice was only slightly static.

"_I thought I smelled you, Sensei!"_ said the television, _"I couldn't be sure, but I recognized your sc__ent. Your hands smell like breakfast, though."_

"Dammit, Teddie, that was my good hand!" Souji barked through his teeth, careful not to draw any attention.

"_Awh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I've just been so confused lately! I've been waiting by the entrance in Junes for months! Yo__u guys all left me without saying where you went! I was beary worried and lonely!"_

I replayed the statement in my head again, checking the words carefully.

"…wait, did he just say 'beary'?" I asked.

"Zat's what I 'eard too…" Bebe said quietly.

"_Who wa__s that?"_ asked the T.V.

"N-Nobody. We need to ask you a question," Yosuke said urgently.

"'Nobody?' Jeez, thanks a ton, asswipe," I muttered.

"Shut up!" Yosuke snapped.

"_Did you meet new friends? How rude, Yosuke! The least you could do is introduce us!"_ the television whined.

"Yes, Yosuke, introduce us," I said in the most bitterly smartass way I could possibly manage.

He glared at me, but his glare wasn't nearly as terrifying as Souji's. When he realized that the television and I weren't going to let it go, he let out a short sigh.

"Okay, Tetsuya, Teddie; Teddie, Tetsuya; Bebe, Teddie; Teddie, Bebe. Now that we've got that out of the way-"

"_Hold on, I want a better intro than that. I'm coming out,"_ said the television.

Coming… out…?

The screen fizzed and a tiny blue tuft of fur stuck out.

…I'll say it again. What the hell? Bebe seemed to be at a loss too, so I'm glad that he finally understands why I had such a hard time with these guys. The tuft began to expand into a large, balloon-like form with the face of some sort of animal. It looked at us with big beady eyes and smiled.

Before it could speak, Souji and Yosuke both threw themselves at the creature and shoved it back inside.

"_OW! Hey, that wasn't b__eary nice! You messed up my fuzzy fur!"_ the voice from the television pouted.

Souji stuck his head in the television; Yosuke moved closer to Souji and did the same.

"Hey, it might be a different country, but you can't just do whatever you want! Take that damn thing off! What happened to laying low?" he barked.

I couldn't help but wonder the same as I stared at two rather suspicious characters with their heads in a widescreen television in the middle of an electronics department.

"_Okay, okay… Gimmie some privacy at least. Unless you both want to watch,"_ said the voice suggestively.

Yosuke withdrew immediately with his face red and flustered, and Souji pulled out shortly after with a milder version of the embarrassment. Yukiko failed to hold back an unattractive snort as she suppressed explosive laughter. Souji shot her a dirty look, silencing her but unable to remove the smile. Yosuke regained his composure and sighed.

"You guys seriously need to cool it," he told Bebe and me.

"Look who's talking…" Bebe murmured.

"Seriously, aren't you supposed to be training to become professionals? And what the hell was that thing you guys shoved back in the T.V.?" I asked.

"That was Teddie," Souji said.

THAT was Teddie? THAT was our special back-up plan? ...yeeeeeahh. He's different, all right.

"…oh. 'Teddie' Bear. I get eet…" Bebe muttered, though not amused even slightly.

_"Ooooooooooookaaaaaaaay!"_ cried the television, _"Is the coast clear, Sensei?"_

Souji sweatdropped a little and Yosuke responded for him.

"Yeah, but you're not exactly being subtle by yelling out like that," he said.

He didn't get a response. The television fizzed again, but instead of a bear, a human just barely younger than me poked his head out and smiled at us.

"Pardon the interruption," he said, stepping out of his world and into ours.

He was a slightly shorter boy, though his face and charm could have easily fooled me into thinking he was female. His blonde hair flipped to one side, resting on the tops of his bright blue eyes. He really disguised himself well; he would fit in here just fine…

"I'm Teddie," he said. "It's beary nice to meet you."

"It's… nice to meet you too," I stammered, still at a loss, "I'm Tetsuya Saito…"

"I'm Bebe…" Bebe said quietly, also still stunned.

"Tetsuya's from Tatsumi Port Island and Bebe's from here in Nanparaux," Yosuke explained to Teddie, "They're part of a group of Persona-users like us."

"They've agreed to help us with the case," Chie said.

"Case?" Teddie asked, evidently lost, "Is this just like before? I thought we'd fixed that already!"

"No, it's not the same as before," Yosuke said, "There's no fog or Midnight Channel or anything… but we wanted to ask you if you sensed anyone in your world."

Teddie seemed incredibly troubled by the request.

"Sensed anyone?" he asked, "I would know if someone had been inside. No one's come inside since we solved the last case!"

The faces of everyone in the group fell. Clearly, our special back-up wasn't as effective as we'd hoped it would be. What did that leave us with if he couldn't sense anything? Teddie seemed disappointed in himself as the group fell quiet, trying to get over the defeat.

"Damn it," Souji sighed, "Well, there goes our theory…"

"Face it, this is a wild goose chase," Chie sighed, "I'm not saying we should give up, but we're no closer than we were in January. I mean… it's been a quarter of a year already. In this time, kidnapping cases rarely end well… What if…?"

"No!" Souji barked, "Don't you dare say that! We can't assume anything until we find her!"

"Find her…?" Teddie asked, "Sensei, what's going on…?"

Reluctantly, the others faced Teddie, nobody wanting to be the one to break it to him. Souji seemed the most hesitant out of all of them. I hadn't really realized how much this little girl really meant to the group, even to him. I felt bad that I couldn't sympathize with them, but I didn't know her the way they did…

"It's Nanako…" Yosuke said quietly, "Someone kidnapped her."

Horror befell Teddie's face as he began to panic.

"Wh-What? And you're just now telling me? If you had told me Nana-chan was missing, I would have been working hard to sniff her out!" he cried.

"We've been looking for her all year. The only clues we had led us to Nanparaux and left us at a dead end," Chie explained, "The closest we've come to figuring out what's going on is finding Tetsuya, Bebe, and the others. And," (she looked at us quickly) "—no offense—but we don't even know if other Persona users can help us much if this doesn't have anything to do with the Shadows."

"Doesn't mean we won't help you," I said, which brought a slight smile to Souji's face for the first time since yesterday.

"I wanna help you guys out, too!" Teddie exclaimed vigorously, "I've gotta help Nana-chan! I won't let you stop me!"

"Why would we stop you…?" Yosuke asked, "That's why we called you in the first place."

"Oh. That would make sense."

Teddie looked to Bebe and me with a grin.

"Looks like we'll be working together!" he said, "I promise not to be a bear-den."

Bebe's smile faded a bit, though he remained friendly.

"Zat's subarashii!" he said with a faintly weary enthusiasm.

"There you are!"

Yukari appeared breathlessly behind me and took me by surprise. She, Aigis, and Junpei had finally managed to track us down from the little I was able to provide over the phone.

"Oh, good, you made it," Chie smiled.

"Yeah. Kinda late though. Already figured out Teddie doesn't know anything," Yosuke grumbled bitterly.

"You don't have to be so mean about it…" Teddie pouted, "I said I was gonna help…"

"Guys, this is Teddie," I said, "He's a special friend of theirs. He lives in the TV."

"Like a Poltergeist…?" Junpei asked, confused.

"I'm the King of the TV World!" Teddie announced proudly.

None of us were exactly sure what to say to that.

To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure what to think of any of this. We stayed behind to help these guys out, but… we don't know anything about them. Plus, we're already getting pissed off at each other. I seriously hope we can solve this quickly, before any other quarrelling ensues or, more importantly, something bad happens to the kid if it hasn't already.

As the late arrivals formally introduced themselves to Teddie, I began to notice that his attention was directed away from Junpei and focused more on Yukari and Aigis. Especially Aigis, who was already glaring daggers back at him. Before I even had time to blink, he was in her space. With half-lidded eyes, he flipped his hair and I swear I imagined a wave of sparkles dispersing into the air with it.

"Hello there," he crooned in a velvet purr, "I couldn't help but notice such a pretty face."

Aigis, evidently inexperienced with boys flirting with her, reacted inappropriately to the gesture, whipping out her guns and jabbing them into his chest. Immediately, panic onset upon the group as Teddie was threatened.

"Aigis-! What the hell? Chill out!" Yukari barked, attempting to pull her away.

"You are dangerous!" Aigis barked at Teddie.

"Oh for God's sake," I groaned.

"W-What the hell? Her hands are guns?" Yosuke exclaimed.

"Uh, duh. She's a robot," Junpei said, as if they should have known.

I guess I didn't realize that they didn't pick that up yesterday when she broke the handcuffs.

"Wha-? A ro-? How is that-?" Chie stammered quietly, too shocked to complete a single thought.

"H-Hey, can somebody help me…?" Teddie squeaked, unable to move.

"You are dangerous!" Aigis barked again.

"Okay, you seriously need to stop with that already-" Junpei started.

"Wait a second… You remember the last time she said that to somebody…?" Yukari asked.

The three of us from Class 2-F fell quiet as we thought back to the day we heard those three words leave her lips for the first time. It was such a random outburst at the time, like it is now. But I remember that day. And I remember whom those words were for originally.

"Ohh!" Junpei exclaimed, "You mean Ryo-"

"That individual whose name shall never be spoken of in my presence again," I interrupted shortly.

"'Im…?" Bebe asked quietly, "…wasn't zat because Ryo- er… 'e was…?"

Slowly, we all looked in Teddie's direction, and he waved back at us awkwardly.

"T-Teddie…? Are you…?" I asked hesitantly.

"Am I what?" he asked.

"A Shadow," Aigis spat, "My sensors detect an identical energy to that of Ryo-"

"We get the message," I interrupted irritably.

"You got a bone to pick with this guy, or…?" Yosuke asked me.

"Well… that's because I _am_ a Shadow," Teddie said casually.

I looked at him abruptly with an unexplainable urge to attack. How can he admit that so openly? …more importantly, why weren't the others surprised?

"We didn't explain that…?" Yosuke asked.

"You were the one explaining things. Pretty vaguely, might I add," Chie muttered.

"No one cares what you think."

"Yeah, I'm a Shadow," Teddie said, "B-But I'm not like the others! Honest! I wanna help you. I helped beat 'em once, I'll do it again."

"It's okay, Teddie," Yukari said, "Ryo- …well… someone we knew was the same way."

He smiled pleasantly at Yukari, flicking golden sparkles from his hair again.

"Well… anything to be like your dear Ryo-kun," he purred.

Yukari's face went red and she looked away quickly.

"N-No, it really wasn't like that," she muttered.

Dammit, Teddie really is just like that man-whore.

"Stay away from my boyfriend, dammit," I snarled.

"Ahh, is that it?" Chie asked with a grin as Yukari and Junpei started to laugh, which caught onto Yukiko.

Yosuke groaned again briefly and rolled his eyes before looking back at Souji.

"Well, partner…" he said, "We've got Teddie and Aigis, and the only Shadow around here is Teddie. It was a good theory, but I think we're just going to have to do this the old-fashioned way."

Souji sighed and lowered his head.

"I know… I was afraid of that…" he said, "We've just about run out of places to look in Nanparaux. Unless Naoto looked over something, we're at a dead end."

"I don't think that's an impossibility," Chie said, "You know how Naoto-kun likes to work alone. Maybe we can find something since we have more eyes."

She looked at me for a minute and grinned a little before looking back at Yosuke, who also grinned.

"I know, I thought the same thing," he chuckled.

I wasn't really understanding the inside joke, and I admit that it bugs me a little, but I agreed with Souji, whose face expressed that it was neither amusing nor relevant to finding his cousin. He turned to face Bebe and me, ignoring his sniggering partners.

"Can you think of any place we might find something?" he asked.

Unfortunately, since I was completely new to the area, this question was nearly impossible for me to answer. I looked at Bebe, who lived in Nanparaux and likely had more to offer. He looked at his feet awkwardly.

"Ano… eet's probably stupid to suggest… demo… 'ave you tried ze academy?" he asked.

The others exchanged a look.

"The Fashion Academy…?" Yukiko asked.

"It can't hurt to check," Chie said, "I know Naoto-kun checked it out already, but like I said before…"

"See, it's not a bad idea," Yukari told Bebe encouragingly.

"Yeah, there are no stupid suggestions," Yosuke said, "At this point, anything you know can help a lot."

"Yosuke's right," Souji said with another seldom-seen smile, "In fact, since you're familiar with Nanparaux, you're probably the most helpful in terms of knowing locations."

"So you're like our Location-Sensei!" Teddie exclaimed cheerily.

Bebe smiled a little, faintly pleased with all of the praise though too modest to express it fully. Come to think of it… he's probably not used to praise. I know for a fact that he spent a lot of time feeling worthless back when he was part of S.E.E.S. Not having a Persona and being unable to fight left him feeling like the damsel in distress, which I can only image was a blow to his masculinity and esteem… I tried to let him know that he was helpful before, but I wonder if he ever really felt any comfort from it. Especially considering it was coming from the most biased person in his life…

"Well? Should we head over now?" Yosuke asked.

Bebe looked up suddenly.

"Oh! Um… you go ahead wizout me. I forgot my zings back at ze apartment," he murmured.

"I'll go with you," I volunteered, "You guys are just taking the bus, right?"

"We planned on that, yes," Souji said, "Do you want us to stay close to the front so you can find us?"

"That would be great. Thanks," I said with a smile.

Well… so far so good. It's nice knowing we can agree on things and set up plans without much of a hassle. I looked back at Bebe with a smile before heading out of the department store with him, bidding temporary farewells to the rest.

* * *

Just outside the complex, an unnerving combination of walkie-talkies and somber, conversing Frenchman met my ears. It sounded faintly like the sound of policemen gathered around an accident, something you never want to hear so close to your home. Also aware of the clamor, Bebe quickened his pace to see what was amiss. I matched his speed and caught up in time to round the corner and witness the situation.

At least four police cars, a fire truck, and an ambulance were parked around the building, stationed in front of the neighbor's apartment.

"Oh God…" Bebe gasped, rushing to the scene quickly.

I ran after him, my head frazzled and confused. What could have happened in the short while we were away?

"Excuse me? Officer? What's going on?" Bebe asked a policeman frantically.

The officer motioned at a few paramedics leaving the building, cautiously guiding a stretcher through the doorway to avoid jostling the man strapped to it.

"Another coma," the officer said quietly, "An employee called to report that he failed to show up for three consecutive days without notice and sent us down to check up on him. Found him collapsed in the living room."

The paramedics rolled the stretcher passed us, close enough that I could catch a glimpse of the man's face for the first time. His hair was grown out and completely grey, scraggly like the age on his face. As he was loaded onto the ambulance, the officer turned to the two of us.

"Do you know this man?" he asked.

"Y-Yes, sir. We live in the apartment next door…" Bebe said softly.

"Had you noticed anything strange about his manner prior to his collapse?"

"Not really… I guess… it occurred to me this morning that I hadn't seen him in a little while, but I don't see a lot of him anyways since we have different schedules…"

The officer looked at me, but I didn't know anything about the guy other than the fact that he worked at the department store at night. When I told him so, he nodded understandingly and sighed.

"The comas have been on the rise lately," he said, "We've been getting more and more cases over the past few days."

"Is that so…?" Bebe asked quietly.

"It seems to be," the officer said, "If you'll excuse me, we need to clear the area for awhile."

"Yes, sir," Bebe said quietly, "I'll grab my things and we'll be out of your way."

We hurried past the scene to the apartment, and I waited by the door while Bebe ran to gather his supplies. The epidemic was striking harder now. How strange that people would be taken by something that didn't seem contagious. In fact, all of it seems sort of fishy. Where did it even come from? Even if the Shadows weren't our concern, I can share Souji's intuition on the complexity of the situation. Nothing about this is normal…

Bebe returned to the door with his messenger bag and a plastic bag concealing a project. The combination of anxiety and depression on his face caught my eye immediately, giving me reason to share the feelings with him. He asked quietly if I was ready to go before we headed back out to catch a bus. On our way to the stop, I couldn't ignore my concern any longer.

"Are you okay…?" I asked.

"I'm okay…" he said without facing me, "Demo… I… I can't believe somezing like zis 'appened so close to us… Poor Ivon…"

We stopped at the curb and he placed his hand to his head stressfully.

"I knew somezing was wrong zis morning…" I murmured, "I couldn't explain eet, but I felt zat somezing was different. I 'adn't seen 'im in awhile and I zought nozing of eet until zis morning… I should 'ave been ze one to call… I should 'ave acted…"

"Hey, hey, come on…" I said comfortingly as I placed my arm around him, "You said it yourself, you both had different schedules. It wouldn't be unusual to go a few days without seeing him. And… you never know… maybe he'll make it out okay."

Bebe looked me dead in the eyes, a heart-wrenching feeling of pain ripping down to my stomach as I noticed tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.

"No one 'as survived eet," he croaked, "Zere 'ave been no reported cases of awakening… Zey collapse and zey don't wake up. Doctors 'ave been trying to find a cure for months, and still nozing… Masses of ze victims die in a single day, leaving be'ind friends, lovers, wives, 'usbands, and children… Ivon didn't even 'ave a family… 'E's going to die alone…"

I placed both arms around him and held him closely in attempt to comfort him.

"Eet's not fair…" Bebe whimpered against my shoulder, "No one should 'ave to die alone…"

…of course… why didn't I see it before…? In a sense, this was a rather harsh tragedy for him. Even if they weren't particularly close, I understand completely…

* * *

The ride to the academy was long and quiet as Bebe and I kept to our own thoughts for once. I couldn't help feeling bad that I wasn't able to comfort him at a time like this, though I felt stricken in a different way by the event. I had heard a mention about the comas once, but they seemed so unimportant at the time. Finding Bebe was the only thing I really cared about… But what if he had fallen comatose…? What then? If no one has made it out alive, would I have lost him inevitably…?

To think you could lose someone so fast without warning… is a terrifying idea. An idea I had struggled with once before, but only when I felt endangered every day of my life. When the Shadows still existed, I truly felt that I had a reason to expect the end any day. I felt that once the Shadows were gone, I'd never have to face death again. It's sort of ironic and funny to think about now, considering what followed, but even when I came back I didn't fear death.

Death is normal part of life, whether it be at the hands of a Shadow, a disease, a wound, or just the passing of years. I have no reason to doubt the timing of death any less because I have no control over it. But if that's the case, can I really protect Bebe from everything…? Is there a loophole to the promise…?

As we had planned, we spotted the others near the front of the campus as we stepped off the bus. When they asked what took us so long, we explained the situation with the neighbor. Evidently, we weren't the only two who had heard about the comas.

"Oh, yeah…" Yosuke said quietly, "We've been hearing about those a lot lately… Apparently, the whole thing is centralized in Nanparaux. Since no one knows what's causing it, people outside the island get funny about coming here or even leaving."

"It's a really scary thing…" Chie muttered, "You really don't know who will be affected by it. It's impossible to trace where it's coming from. Doctors aren't even sure it's a disease that's causing it. People just… drop to the floor and are gone within a month or even less… And of course, all the con-artists and quacks are coming up with these vaccines that they sell for ridiculous prices. In the process of looking for Nanako, we've arrested about twenty of those for trying to sell fake medicines to tourists leaving the airport."

"Imagine those poor people's surprise when they found out they were about to spend 5,000 Euros on a tiny bottle of cow piss," Yosuke said.

Yukari, Yukiko, and Teddie all exclaimed in disgust at the very thought. I sighed and shook my head. People in this world are absolutely detestable…

"Sorry to hear about your neighbor, Bebe…" Junpei said, "You gonna be okay today?"

Bebe nodded without hesitation, though still a little downcast.

"I'll be fine," he said, "Let's just focus on finding a lead."

Souji looked back at the students walking around the campus, some centered on their own agendas while others flashed our group dirty looks as they passed on by. Yosuke frowned back at them.

"Jeez, what's with these people…?" he grumbled, then taking a sidestep toward Chie.

"It's probably the foreigners thing you were talking about," Yukari said, "I wonder if they think we're the ones with the disease or something…"

"I heard it involved a punk creeping around the campus…" I said.

"Oh? Tetsuya? Bebe?"

I turned my head in time to see Marie and Pierre approaching us at a casual pace, and a smile finally found its way to my lips.

"Hey, guys," I responded.

"Hello, Marie. Hello, Pierre," Bebe said with a tired smile.

They stopped in front of us, seeming to realize that the others were with us and sparing them an additional "Bonjour", to which everyone responded in kind, except for Junpei who added an unnecessary "ru" at the end. The twins gave them a friendly smile before addressing us again.

"What are you still doing here?" Marie asked, "We thought you went back to Japan yesterday."

"Well… that was the plan," I said, "But we ran into these guys at the airport and they seemed to need some help with their case, so we decided to stay for them."

"What kind of case?" Pierre asked.

I looked back at Souji to assure that I wasn't leaking confidential information. He looked to Pierre and responded,

"A kidnapping. My little cousin was taken back in January."

"How awful… I'm so sorry…" Pierre murmured sympathetically.

"How are you guys involved exactly…?" Marie asked Bebe quietly.

"We just thought we could help," he said, avoiding any implication that we had anything in common with our country friends, "They seemed like they needed it."

"So… you just offered to help some total strangers, without any professional training yourself, looking for someone you've never even seen in your life…?"

"You know, you were in the same situation when you were helping me look for Bebe…" I muttered.

Marie crossed her arms and tilted her head contemplatively.

"I never really expected a mystery twist in this love story, but I suppose it makes things interesting. I guess I can't complain," she muttered to herself.

Pierre shook his head at her with a quiet groan before looking at Bebe and noticing his manner.

"You okay…?" he asked, "You seem a little down."

Bebe looked down at his feet and shook his head.

"My neighbor fell into a coma this morning."

Both Marie's and Pierre's faces fell and their manner changed completely. I'd nearly forgotten about their grandmother's coma and that they were probably still in mourning.

"I'm so sorry to hear that…" Marie said softly, "We also lost someone to the comas…"

Bebe looked up at them quickly and expressed his sincerest condolences, to which the twins seemed grateful for.

A blond-headed figure peeked out from behind me, rather close which caused me to jump in surprise. Teddie stepped over to Marie wearing an expression of deep concern.

"Excuse me, Miss… you have something in your hair," he said.

Of course, telling a girl this would have her feeling self-conscious. Marie, predictably, began feeling at her bangs and pigtails for a bit of foreign matter that wasn't there as far as I could see.

"Huh? W-What is it?" she stammered, blushing in embarrassment.

How weird. Why would he come over at a time like this to tell her- …oh, jeez.

"Oh, it looks like a bit of cloud," Teddie said, and then flicking his hair, "It must have been from when you fell from Heaven."

"Hey, Teddie, come on!" Souji scolded, "She's clearly in mourning! Now is not an appropriate time to be whipping out pick-up lines!"

"And since when were you fluent in French?" Yosuke asked, completely lost, "Damn, I studied for four months and still don't know any pick-up lines…"

Souji gave him a look, to which Yosuke responded with a frown.

I looked back at Marie to apologize for his behavior, only to find her covering her blushing face and small smile.

"Monsieur, you flatter me," she said shyly.

"Noooo," Yosuke objected, "Please don't fall for that!"

"What's your name, my lady?" Teddie asked her sweetly.

"Antoinette-Marie Prunet," Marie responded, equally flirtatious, which had many of us astounded.

"Wha-? The full name? Really, Marie?" Pierre barked.

"That's a lovely name. My name is Dexter Axel Cunningham," Teddie responded.

"Your name is WHAT?" Yukiko cried, then exploding into a fit of laughter at the ridiculous and clearly fake name.

"I call bullshit," Souji piped up.

"But you can call me Teddie," he added nonchalantly.

"What an honor…" Yukari said, rolling her eyes.

"Teddie. That's a very fitting name," Marie responded with a smile, "My friends call me Marie."

"So do your classmates, and- WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME! Class is starting in five minutes!" Pierre exclaimed exaggeratedly.

"I can skip," Marie retorted.

"Please don't skip for him," Chie, Souji, Yosuke, and I responded in unison.

"They're right," Teddie said with a sparkling flick of the hair, "I don't want to keep you from your studies. However, I would like to see you again."

"Don't do it," Aigis said flatly.

"It's a trap!" Yukiko cried, continuing her laughing fit that her friends just shook their heads at.

Marie, despite the others' warnings, blushed and grinned.

"I'd like to see you again, too," she said, shy again.

Yosuke and Chie let out a cry of disapproval.

"Then it shall be done!" Teddie responded with a youthful grin.

The two waved farewell to each other semi-dramatically, and it literally felt like time slowed as Pierre led his love struck sister away. I'm not sure if it was my imagination or not, but the clouds seemed to part away from the sun and the entire area was a bit brighter and… sparkly. Suddenly, I was watching the cheesiest soap opera the world ever knew, and I swear I hear a narrator somewhere voicing over the event in a soothing foreign-flavored voice that tenderly touches the hearts of women for reasons I will never understand. Once Marie was out of earshot, I made sure to turn to Teddie and speak my mind.

"Man-whore."

"Pfft. Yeah. That's about right," Souji snickered.

"Whaaaaat?" Teddie whined, "I thought she was really pretty…"

"Never mind that you hit on both of us less than an hour ago…" Yukari muttered, evidently feeling a little bitter about the matter.

"Seriously, though, what just happened…?" Junpei asked, the only one completely lost.

"It really doesn't matter," Yosuke said.

"Right. We need to stick to the reason we came here," Souji said, "Naoto didn't find anything, but that doesn't mean we won't. I think our best bet is to start with simple observations. It led Yosuke and me to you guys, so I think it's worth a shot."

"I think it would be best if we split up into pairs," I said, "Since that was how it worked for you last time."

"I was thinking that as well," Souji said, "How do you want to pair up?"

"I want Tetsuya," Bebe said quickly, grabbing my hand as he shot a rather untrusting glance in the girls' direction.

"You make it sound like I could have had it any another way," I said with a smile.

"In that case, I would like to be by Yukari's side," Aigis said bitterly.

"Glad to know I was your second choice…" Yukari muttered.

"You were my first choice!" Teddie exclaimed, but was ignored.

"I want to stay with Yukiko," Chie said, and the lovers smiled lovingly at each other.

As the choices began dropping, I noticed Junpei gaze switch over to Yosuke. At first, it made a lot of sense to me. Something about their personalities seem like they might get along fairly well, and they seemed like a good team. However, he didn't speak up. And he who hesitates is lost.

"I'll go with Yosuke," Souji said, "So that leaves Teddie and Junpei."

An engaged man and a man-whore. What a fun combination.

"H-Hey, why do we get last pick?" Junpei asked indignantly.

"If you wanted to be with one of us, you should have said so sooner."

"We're best friends," Yosuke explained, "We go way back, so we're comfortable with each other. I'll pair with you next time, if you want. Promise."

Junpei smiled more contently.

"Sounds fair," he said, "Next time for sure."

"Yay! I get to team up with Sensei next time!" Teddie exclaimed excitedly.

Souji shared only a small amount of his friend's enthusiasm as he responded with a tiny smile. It really takes a lot to take his focus away from the case. No wonder he's a leader…

"All right. Let's split up," he said, "Chie and Yukiko, you check out the lecture halls. Yukari and Aigis, you check out the smaller classrooms. Junpei and Teddie, you check out the dining halls. Tetsuya and Bebe, you check the campus outdoors. Yosuke and I will check on things outside the residence halls. There should be campus directories if you get lost, correct?"

"Hai, they're all over," Bebe said, "You won't ever get too lost."

"Is everyone okay with the arrangement?" I asked, just to be sure.

Everyone seemed content with their partners and assignments, so there were no changes needed. With consent, we dispatched from the large group and headed directly to our separate areas.

Bebe kept extremely close to me, his hand holding a firm grasp on mine. I've never seen him get possessive over me before, so this is definitely a strange side of him to see.

"What are you worried about?" I asked him, "I've sworn my loyalty to you, Bebe. I saw the way you looked at the girls… Believe me, Yukari understands we're together and there's no changing my mind. She seems to have moved on now."

Bebe looked at me guiltily.

"Eet's not Yukari-sama I'm worried about…" he murmured, "Besides… I didn't want to be wiz anyone else… And don't forget what I told you before…"

Obviously, I already did. He told me a lot of things about himself, so I wasn't sure what he was referring to.

"Exactly what?" I asked.

He stopped abruptly and tugged my hand.

"What?"

"Not zis way," he whispered, "Let's go a different way."

"Why?"

"Zere's a man zere…"

A man…? I looked in the direction we were headed and noticed the small dark corridor just a few paces ahead of me. Oh. Oh my God, of course. How were we walking around so casually?

"O-Okay, let's just turn around," I whispered back, slowly backing away from the opening and taking him in the opposite direction.

We quickly shuffled away from the man's hiding spot, relieved to run into the courtyard to find refuge in. Bebe sighed, letting out a breath that sounded like he'd been holding it in for awhile.

"You okay?" I asked.

He nodded wearily.

"Hai. …heh, welcome to my life," he said with a sad smile.

He looked around the courtyard with a more relaxed gaze, seeming at peace very quickly. I can hardly blame him, being somewhere so tranquil and beautiful. Flower petals still lay scattered on the grass from last Friday, though many petals still retained their original place on the tree. Those between the tree and the earth danced gracefully in the air on their long journey to the petal carpet below. Bebe faced me with a smile and took my hand gently.

"I come 'ere a lot…" he said, "I can't explain eet, but eet feels like a completely different world… So beautiful and… and…"

"Dream-like," I finished, to which he smiled approvingly.

"You don't zink Souji-kun would mind if we stayed 'ere for a little while… do you?" he asked.

"We'll be fine," I said, "As long as we don't stay here all day or anything."

We sat on the grass and lay beside each other, cuddling. It makes up for this morning…

"I could stay 'ere all day…" Bebe said, "Zis was ze closest I felt to 'ome since I was wiz you. And now zat you're 'ere, I don't want to leave…"

I peeked down at him, realizing that his entire body was relaxed. This place… is a sanctuary. The wind is calm and the sun is warm… The entire atmosphere is inviting and comforting, cozy and womblike. Even though I know we have to be looking for clues to the little girl's location… I can't help the overwhelming sense of peace. My body doesn't even want to stay awake anymore, even though I got a decent amount of sleep last night.

In a final attempt to avoid the slumber, I tried to look at Bebe and speak to him, only to realize that he had already fallen asleep against my chest. I suppose… it wouldn't hurt to rest here. My eyelids grew too heavy to keep open and I surrendered to my fatigue. Let's just forget everything for a moment… Just spend our time together…

* * *

For the first time since my battle with Nyx, I was completely weightless. The sensation was like being in water, though I was able to breathe and stay submerged in the water. Around me, everything was black, save for large scattered bubbles that glowed either red or green, and just a few that were a simple white outline. Some of the red bubbles were quite dim, while the green ones varied from either being very faded or very bright. Looking around, the setting appeared to be underwater… yet I couldn't shake the image of a night sky.

This has to be one of those dreams where you know you're dreaming. I've only heard rumors about such a thing, but I don't recall having one myself… That being established, I can most likely control what I do in this dream… I tested my theory by floating forward, which I was able to do and capable of stopping just as easily. Incredible…

"Tetsuya!"

I looked in the direction of the echoing voice to see Bebe gliding toward me gracefully. This has to be one of the best dreams I've ever had.

"Bebe! I can't believe you're here!" I grinned.

He tilted his head.

"Eh? I was zinking ze same zing. I've never 'ad a dream like zis wiz you in eet…" he murmured contemplatively.

…what?

"…but… you're in my dream…" I said quietly.

Bebe seemed equally confused.

"Are we… dreaming ze same zing…? I 'ad no idea zat was possible…" he said.

A faint voice whispered in my ear, though too indistinct to make any sense. Bebe looked around, and I could only assume that he'd heard it too.

"That voice…" he said quietly.

I heard the mumble again, this time in the direction of one of the bright green bubbles. With only a single glance at each other, Bebe and I decided to investigate. The closer we came to the bubble, the clearer the voice was. The voice belonged to man. Though I was still unable to decipher the words, I recognized his mood as fearful.

I peered closely at the bubble, surprised to see an image blurred by ripples. Through the shaking, I was eventually able to realize that the image was that of an older man with wiry grey hair. He looked around himself, paranoid, but he didn't seem to see Bebe or me. He turned around and fled from our view. Even though I can't look at him longer to be sure… I feel like I've seen his face.

I looked up at Bebe to see if it was ringing any bells for him, and he stared back in a stunned silence. Immediately, I knew who it was, but Bebe was in denial.

"No…" he whispered, "Zere's no way…"

I looked back into the bubble to see if he'd come back, only to see just in time that the bubble was being engulfed in black, the green glow fading.

We looked at each other again quickly.

"No way…" I said quietly.

"Zis…?" Bebe asked, "Zis is…?"

I have to know for sure if what we're doing is right or not… I have to test the theory one last time…

"Bebe… wake up…"


	10. A Lead

**Rendezvous**

**Chapter Nine ****–**** A Lead**

The gentle shower of petals waited at the threshold of my consciousness, greeting me with a soft touch as light spilled into my vision. A stir beside me had my attention and I sat up quickly, realizing that a thin layer of fallen petals had begun to bury me. Bebe, too, sat up with petals in his hair, though slightly slower than I was as his body was heavy with weariness. The sun was still bright… we couldn't have been asleep for too long…

"Tetsuya…?" Bebe asked quietly, "Ano… did you… dream?"

…this can't be real…

"Y-Yeah… You saw it too… didn't you?" I asked.

Bebe's brow furrowed with concern.

"Ze bubbles… and… Ivon, ne?" he asked.

It's true… We just shared the same dream… That dream was… far too vivid for both of us to have seen it. Coincidence, perhaps? But that seems highly unlikely that we would both be able to control ourselves and communicate in a unique dream like that…

"Tetsuya…" Bebe said, "What do you zink zat was…? Why would we see Ivon…?"

"Well… it's possible that it was because we were both thinking about the comas. His face was still fresh in my mind when I fell asleep."

"I don't zink zat's eet…" Bebe said, "You know zat dream was strange. I know you do…"

"Yeah, but… are we sure it wasn't just…?" I started.

"Zen I'll test eet," he said, "If you want to join me, go ahead."

Before I could even respond, he lay back on the grass and closed his eyes. I shook my head doubtfully. He's not going to be able to go back to sleep just like that, let alone resume the same dream.

"Bebe, come on, you don't have to do that," I said.

He didn't respond. Gently, I touched his arm and shook it to wake him, but he failed to respond again. …unresponsive…? …Oh my God!

"Bebe!" I cried, shaking him a little more forcefully, "Wake up!"

He's still not responding. Oh God… Oh God, oh God, oh God… What if he slipped into a coma? This is exactly what I was afraid of before, and now I might be facing it directly! If it's true that people don't wake up once they fall, then I would lose him forever!

…but… maybe… he's on to something… Maybe… I just have to go find him… I lay beside him again, closing my eyes and praying for an easy return to the dream. Let me go back… let me find him… let me go back…

"You made eet okay."

I opened my eyes immediately, only to find myself before Bebe in the strange abyss. I began looking around my surroundings to confirm that it was the same place as before. The bubbles were positioned just like the last time, unchanged in placement and color.

"You see…? Eet's not just a dream…" Bebe said.

"No… it's definitely not coincidence…" I murmured, still dumbfounded.

One would think after dealing with my high school that turned into a Shadow nest during a secret hour, watching someone put their hand in a TV, and being transmogrified into a seal to keep Nyx away would have me used to strange phenomena by now, but I still find myself constantly surprised by the curve balls fate throws at me… The question is if this isn't a dream, then what is it? We can control what we do and interact with each other… I wonder… if it works with others.

"Wake up again," I told him.

Immediately following my words, Bebe faded away. …I really hope this is working… I told myself to wake up again and return to my original world.

Just like that, my eyes opened to the courtyard again. Bebe was already sitting up and looking down at me.

"What are ze chances we just found somezing useful?" he greeted me.

"That's what I was thinking, too," I said, "I think it's worth reporting back whether or not it has anything to do with Souji's cousin."

I got to my feet and helped Bebe to his, and then we rushed out of the mysterious square in search of at least one group of our friends.

"Do you remember where everyone was supposed to be stationed?" I asked.

"No, I was focusing on our assignment," Bebe responded, "But wasn't one ze places ze residence 'alls?"

"I think so. Why? Are those close?"

"Very close. Zey're about five minutes from 'ere on foot."

Considering how far apart everything is spaced out, five minutes is nothing at all. We agreed to find whoever had been stationed outside the residence halls and tell them about our experience. I'm personally hoping that it's Yukari and Aigis, or even Junpei and Teddie. I just want at least one person we're friends with and comfortable around. Someone who would be more likely to believe us… someone who we trust as much as they trust us…

And if they can see the world too, what will it mean then? Does this relate to the case, or did we happen upon it by chance…? There are so many things we don't even know about this place, yet we're trying to drag others in. It hardly seems impulsive when we consider our options, but we aren't even sure if the place is dangerous or not. We just have to hope the others will be willing to help us make sense of the whole thing.

As Bebe said, we made it to the residence halls in a rather short amount of time, likely aided by the fact that we had kept our pace above casual. The closest dorm appeared to be a co-ed building, as both males and females walked in and out of the entrance. The crowd was a bit thinner than I had anticipated, so locating a familiar face shouldn't be too difficult. They're bound to be around here somewhere…

"Oh!" Bebe exclaimed suddenly, waving his arms in attempt to draw attention towards us, "Souji-kun! Yosuke-kun!"

Souji and Yosuke-? I looked quickly in the direction Bebe was facing and also met eyes with our two newer partners. Dammit! Of all the people in this group, we get stuck with possibly the most skeptical. If I could have had someone else from the country, I would have gone with Chie. At least she gives us a chance to explain ourselves…

They approached us quickly, anxious.

"Hey, did you guys find something?" Yosuke asked.

Enjoy them being interested while you can, Tetsuya. It probably won't last.

"We think so," I said, attempting this conversation though I felt like I knew how it would end.

"We found Ivon," Bebe said.

Souji and Yosuke both looked at him confusedly.

"Who?" Yosuke asked.

"My neighbor who fell comatose."

"…w-was he missing?"

"No, demo…" Bebe said softly, also starting to realize how difficult this would be to explain to them, "…we found 'im awake… Somewhere strange…"

"Some… where? Where are you talking about?" Souji asked, evidently ready to take off quickly.

"We can show you," Bebe responded confidently.

"We can try to show you," I restated more accurately.

I don't want us to be the ones at fault if we're the only ones seeing it…

"You can try?" Souji asked me, frowning irritably, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Eto… eet's 'ard to explain," Bebe murmured, "Come wiz us, we'll show you."

We turned back the way we came and hurried along anxiously. Great. I shouldn't have said anything. Souji's suspicious at this point, and if it doesn't work he's gonna give us hell. It's not like we aren't exercising every option at this point, but I don't want to look completely insane… They'll never trust us again if we start making stupid mistakes now…

"Are they following us?" I asked.

Bebe peeked over his shoulder and then looked back at me.

"Hai, but Souji doesn't look 'appy. Zey're moving slowly…"

Sure enough, the two were several feet behind us, hardly in a hurry. I bet I can fix that up quickly…

"You want to find your cousin or not?" I asked.

To my satisfaction, that quickened Souji's pace dramatically, which also dragged Yosuke's to match.

"You had better be on to something. We can't afford to waste any time," Souji grumbled.

"Trust us," Bebe said, "I zink zis eez really important."

In no time at all, we had reached the courtyard again, still withholding the same tranquility and beauty that had lulled us into the mysterious world to begin with. The two looked around the area with faint interest, also taken by the atmosphere though clearly too proud to say so. To them, it probably didn't even seem significant to the situation.

"Okay…? Where is it?" Yosuke asked.

I looked to Bebe, who was braver about explaining this than I was, to realize he was looking to me for the same thing. He'd might as well finish it, since he was the one who really wanted them to know.

"Well?" Yosuke asked, getting impatient like his partner.

Bebe finally looked at them and sighed.

"Eto… anata… you… 'ave to go to sleep," he said.

As I expected, both of them were outraged.

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?" Yosuke barked.

"You fell asleep in the middle of a mission? What the hell is wrong with you?" Souji spat, "Listen, Nanako is in some serious trouble right now! We don't have time to be fooling around!"

"Trust us!" Bebe cried, "We didn't believe eet eizer at first, demo… ze world eez real… Eet's in a dream."

"No, the whole thing is a dream!" Yosuke yelled, "Exactly what kind of help are you trying to offer us?"

I decided to step in, unable to let them yell at Bebe and have him stand his ground alone against them both.

"We saw it twice," I told them calmly.

"So you went back to the same dream! People can do tha-!"

"Hold on," Souji interrupted, "We? You mean… you both saw it?"

"Hai, we boz saw eet boz times. We could talk and control ourselves, like where we moved and when we could wake up. Everyzing was like black water and zere were bubbles…"

"Bubbles…?" Yosuke asked, still not on board with the whole thing. He looked at his partner with skepticism, "Souji, you not seriously buying this are you?"

"I don't see how it could be more farfetched than a world inside a TV," he said, "Of course it sounds crazy, but weirder things have happened, right?"

"Souji-"

"Hey, I was the one who noticed them at the airport. Do you think you can trust me just one more time…? Please…? I really don't ask for much. If they're wrong, you don't have to trust my instincts again."

"Or ours for that matter…" I mumbled.

Yosuke stared at Souji for a long time before closing his eyes and heaving and weary sigh through his lips.

"Alright…" he consented, "But we're doing things my way if they turn out to be crazy."

"Whatever you say, Yosuke," Souji said with a faintly pleased smile, then turning to us, "Okay. How exactly did you get there?"

"We came 'ere to rest a moment and accidentally fell asleep," Bebe said, "Zat's 'ow we got zere."

He sat down on the grass and beckoned me to join him, which I did without hesitation.

"Whaaat are you doing…?" Yosuke asked, his entire body stuck in a cringe at our affection.

"Getting ready for our four-way. Jeez, it's just sleeping. Settle down, you homophobe," I spat.

Yosuke's face reddened in frustration, but he made the wise decision to keep his mouth shut and do as he was told. He sat at a fair distance from us, giving Souji a warning glance when he came within three feet of his space. Jeez, he's got it bad… Souji sat on the grass between Yosuke and us, still fairly separated from both, and looked to Bebe for approval.

"Now we just… lay down and go to sleep?" he asked.

"Hai," Bebe said, "Zat's all zere eez to eet."

"You'd better be telling the truth," Yosuke muttered, bitter about the awkward situation.

Bebe lay back quickly and closed his eyes without another word. I took another moment to exchange a gaze with Yosuke and Souji, who were still evidently skeptical as they looked at me expectantly. My boyfriend was still, already taken over by peaceful slumber. If our theory was correct, he was already on the other side now, waiting for us to join him. I don't want to leave him there alone for long, knowing little about the place and what potential dangers exist, but I'm afraid I won't be able to fall asleep under the pressure of being wrong… Hopefully… This will work… I lay down hesitantly, watching the other two to make sure they followed. As soon as I was sure they would go through the entire process, I shut my eyes and relaxed my body. Please… let this work…

* * *

"Oh good! You're all 'ere!"

I opened my eyes again and felt immediate relief as the familiar sight had returned to my vision. Bebe came to me quickly.

"I was starting to worry when you didn't show up!" he said with a relieved smile.

I spared him an equally comforted smile before turning my head to look for Souji and Yosuke, just to ensure that they would also see this world. The last bit of doubt left drifted out in a single sigh and as I saw they had followed us, though their eyes were still closed.

"Hey, don't just float around," I said, "We're here to check things out, right?"

Souji opened his eyes first, Yosuke following shortly after. Both, predictably, were shocked by what they saw.

"What the hell-?" Yosuke uttered.

"See, you guys are allowed to trust us. We're not crazy."

"Good to know, I guess," Souji chuckled, still looking around the area in awe.

He looked back at us after a moment, immediately back to business.

"How much of this place have you checked out so far?" he asked.

"Not much," Bebe said, "We figured eet would be best to 'ave ozers wiz us. Demo, we did look into ze bubbles a little. Zey might mean somezing."

He kicked off and went to the bubble where we had found Ivon, waiting by it patiently. Hesitantly, as if just learning to swim, the other two pushed forward a bit to test the odd atmosphere. I kicked off to join Bebe at Ivon's bubble, which was beginning to glow a more pronounced red.

As Souji and Yosuke approached, Bebe caught them up on the little we knew.

"We 'eard a voice coming from ze bubble and Ivon was inside," he said, "Eet's strange… ze bubble was very clear when we first saw eet, and eet was glowing green before…"

Yosuke looked around at the bubbles curiously, frowning.

"That's weird… I wonder what that's supposed to mean…" he muttered, "Come to think of it, the bubbles are sort of weird anyway. I mean, they're the only thing really here. They have to be important somehow."

Did you come up with that yourself there, Sherlock? Jeez, I was hoping for a more helpful analysis… God, I was hoping I'd never have to feel like that again.

"I wonder what zey are 'ere for…" Bebe said.

Souji stared at the bubble with a puzzled look on his face. He was on to something and I could tell, but I wasn't exactly sure what was going through his head. As soon as I noticed his hand raise, I caught on.

"Just maybe…" he murmured.

He placed his hand against the surface of the bubble and it went through effortlessly. The rest of us watched him, concerned by what sorts of consequences could come from placing himself in a blurry situation. His arm bobbed up and down, his expression slowly transitioning from a tense guard to a relaxed state of interest and curiosity.

"The air is much warmer and drier inside…" he said observantly, "I think this leads somewhere…"

"All right. Way to go, partner…" Yosuke said with an approving smile.

"When in doubt, stick your hand in it, I suppose?" I asked mockingly.

Souji glared back with a cynical smirk.

"And when all else fails, put a gun to your head?" he asked.

"Ladies, please," Yosuke grumbled.

"Subarashii, Souji-kun!" Bebe praised excitedly, then looking back at the bubble, "…do you zink… zere eez more to zis world zan just zis place? If zis leads somewhere, zere might be ozer worlds."

"Like the Midnight Channel," Yosuke said, "It started off in a studio and branched out into more worlds whenever someone got thrown in."

Souji's brow furrowed as he withdrew his hand.

"Do think this world is the same as the Midnight Channel?" he asked, "If so, we already know a lot about how this works. It would be pretty convenient."

"I doubt it's that simple," I said, "Like you said, it would be convenient. I think it's a little more complex than that…"

"Zere's only one real way to find out," Bebe said, leaning forward.

"Wh-What are you doing?" I asked nervously as his face drew nearer to the bubble's surface.

Before I could stop him, he poked his head inside.

"Hey!"

I pulled him out quickly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You don't know what's in there!" I scolded.

Bebe was quiet, almost puzzled.

"Bebe…?" I asked.

"I know now," he said, "…demo… Eet's strange."

"What did you see?" Yosuke asked.

"Ze end of ze world…"

…the end of the world? He saw that inside the bubble…?

"Eet looked like ze ruins of a modern city…" he said, "Zere was destruction everywhere… Like eet was attacked…"

"What the hell…?" Yosuke asked.

"Did you see anything else?" Souji asked, "Signs of life? Danger? Anyone?"

"From ze brief glimpse I got, no," Bebe replied.

We all faced the bubble again, puzzled. There was an entire world inside what appeared to be such a small space. If it was a city in ruins, then it couldn't possibly be safe. Something terrible had to have happened to put it in such a state. But if it really did lead somewhere, then it could lead us to answers. I have a hard time believing that this place exists just because it can. I have a hard time believing that seeing Bebe's comatose neighbor here was just a coincidence. Where we are now has a purpose. It would be foolish to turn our backs on it now.

"We should go in," I said.

"Go… in?" Yosuke asked.

"Yeah. Let's check it out," I said, "If this really is another world, we should find out what it's all about and why it's here."

"I agree," Souji said, "We came this far already. If anything related to Nanako's kidnapping is here, I want to find it. Even if not… I want to know why it exists… I have a feeling about this place. You feel it too, don't you?"

"I think so…" I said.

"Well, what are we waiting around for?" Yosuke asked, "Let's go."

I looked at the bubble again hesitantly, wanting to be braver about the plan but still finding my mind rattled with doubt. What sorts of dangers were ahead of us…? Inhaling deeply, I closed my eyes and took Bebe's hand in mine, pressing my face against the surface of the bubble…

* * *

Once my feet were flat against the ground, I reopened my eyes to the new world inside the bubble. Exactly as Bebe had described, we stood in the middle of an intersection in a large city. The buildings were blasted and bricks were strewn about the debris-dusted street. The air was also hazed with debris, making it difficult to see and breathe properly. The sky was a bright orange, like the fires that blossomed on littered newspapers and even some of the buildings. Not a single man, woman, or child was in sight, and not even the wind was present to stir the atmosphere. I'd never seen a place so… dead.

The other three examined the surroundings nervously, frowning.

"It reminds me of Magatsu Inaba…" Yosuke murmured.

"It looks like the pictures of cities after they'd been bombed…" Souji said quietly, "Like the aftermath of war."

"I wonder what 'appened 'ere… Why everyzing eez in ruins…" Bebe said quietly, "…Ivon… was 'e 'ere when zis 'appened…?"

After a tense silence, I stepped forward.

"Come on," I said, "Let's keep moving…"

Reluctantly, Bebe walked with me, the others following behind us closely. The buildings slowly crept behind us as we moved along, looking up at the dented street signs and shattered traffic lights that continued to flicker red and green in a feeble attempt to move the nonexistent traffic along. The pedestrian signs were stuck on the bright orange hand with its palm flattened and fingers held stiffly together, halting no one yet everything. We walked upon shards of broken glass scattered on the sidewalk, belonging to the shattered windows of bare-shelved stores.

…this wasn't a bombing at all.

"It looks like the stores were all looted," Yosuke said, "There must have been a riot or something."

"Over what?" Bebe asked.

"Who knows? Whatever it was, there wasn't any controlling it. The authorities didn't exactly keep things in order."

"I think the real question is where everyone went…" Souji said, "There isn't anyone here at all… so who even did the rioting?"

"I saw zem…"

All of us looked toward a building where the voice came from. All was still, and no sign of life was to be found. The voice was strange, but all too familiar. However, it didn't relax me the way it normally did. Something about it was… unnerving.

"Who's there?" Yosuke asked it, "Show yourself."

"Zat voice…" Bebe murmured, "…why…?"

Very slowly and shyly, a fair face peeked out from behind the building, gazing at us with timid yellow eyes. … …huh…?

I looked beside me and back at the face behind the building. Why… did that boy have Bebe's face…?

"What ze…?" Bebe gasped, taking a step back.

Slowly, the boy stepped out from behind the building, revealing himself to us. Even his clothes were identical to Bebe's, only tattered. On his cheek and neck were faint bruises, and his body appeared weaker. But… why did he look like Bebe…?

"I saw ze rioters. Eet was terrible. Zey destroyed everyzing…" he said, almost completely unmoved.

"Wh-Who are you…?" Bebe asked.

The boy smiled a tiny, friendly smile.

"Don't you recognize me…?" he asked, "I'm you."

"Oh, shit," Yosuke muttered.

"Y-You're… me…?" Bebe asked unsurely.

The other Bebe's smile disappeared as he held his hands to his bruised cheeks.

"Ze attack was 'orrible," he sighed in defeat, "But what could I do?"

"Bebe, don't say anything," Yosuke said.

"What?" Bebe asked him, "What do you mean?"

"I'm not good for much of anyzing," the other said, "I would only make zings worse, or even get 'urt. I can't even defend myself wiz such a weak body. I'm completely worthless."

Bebe looked at him sharply.

"What are you saying?" he asked loudly.

The other Bebe cowered at the loudness of his voice.

"D-Don't be angry. I'm just stating what eez so," he said nervously, "Eez eet not true zat I 'ave done nozing useful wiz myself?"

"Zat's not true!" Bebe yelled.

"Bebe, stop!" Yosuke barked.

We looked back at Yosuke in confusion.

"Why? Why should I 'ave to stand and listen to zis?" Bebe asked angrily.

Souji and Yosuke exchanged a glance before looking back at us.

"He's your Shadow," Souji said, "We've dealt with them before. He comes from a part of you. From a feeling that you really have. …he's making it sound worse than it really is to make you deny it."

"I had to face my Shadow too," Yosuke said, "It's not easy, but you can't deny that you are him. If you do, he'll only become stronger and attack. It'll save you time if you just accept him…"

"But…" Bebe muttered.

"It's okay," Souji said, "Just agree with him."

"Sewing eez my life," said the other Bebe, "But really… what good does zat really do? If my only true purpose eez to sew, zen 'ow does eet even match ze capabilities of all my friends? 'Ow can I even call myself a part of zem?"

…these are Bebe's true feelings…? I knew he always called himself a burden, but I never realized how worthless he felt. Why didn't he tell me he felt this way…? Bebe looked at me and back at his Shadow.

"…Zat's… Zat's true," he murmured softly.

The other Bebe smiled a little.

"Eet's not easy being surrounded by people who are better zan you… eez eet?" he asked.

Bebe stared at his feet.

"No."

The Shadow smiled more.

"But at least you make zem look even better. We're nozing but a foil, you and I."

Bebe let out a tremble.

"H-Hai…" he muttered.

"You're 'ere to try to prove your worth, ne?"

"…hai…"

"You should turn around and go 'ome. You're only going to get in ze way. Tetsuya won't like zat."

What? Don't pull me into this to make me look like an ass! I started to step forward angrily, but Souji grabbed my shoulder. Bebe was also irked by the remark.

"Tetsuya doesn't zink I get in ze way… Leave 'im out of zis," he said quietly, "'E doesn't believe I'm a burden like ze ozers do…"

"Oh no?" the other asked, "Are you sure?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I barked.

"Tetsuya! Stop!" Yosuke snapped.

"You don't zink 'e just tells you what you want to 'ear…? Eezn't zat what boys do?" the Shadow asked, "What if 'e doesn't really feel zat way…? What if 'e's just using you for your weak little body…?"

Does… Bebe think I'm using him…?

"B-Bebe you know that's not true, right?" I asked him, "It's bullshit!"

Bebe looked at me in a panic and then at his Shadow.

"'E's defending 'imself awfully strongly…" the Shadow murmured.

"SHUT UP!" I screamed.

Why is it doing this? Is it using me as a scapegoat because it knows it can push Bebe's buttons through me? If this is Bebe's Shadow, why is it trying to push mine too? What is it doing?

"Don't you worry zat 'e stays by you because you're worthless? Eet sure would feel good to 'ave someone exist to make you look better," the Shadow said, "Maybe eet's not so bad. At least you make 'im 'appy, ne?"

Bebe said nothing, holding his head.

The Shadow grinned a wicked smile.

"Good zing 'e turned out alive, ne? If 'e 'adn't, zen maybe you would 'ave gone zrough wiz ze suicide in ze end. After all, you wouldn't want to live wiz ze fact zat 'e died because you were too worthless and cowardly to stay be'ind and 'elp 'im fight, would you? You say you don't fear death, so why did you put ze broken glass down? You were too cowardly to put yourself out of your own misery, even knowing you didn't 'ave a reason to live anymore! But really… why does ze world even need you at all?"

…Bebe… I looked at him slowly, my heart aching at the Shadow's words. I begged for it not to be true. For it all to be a lie. I thought… I thought Bebe knew I loved him… I thought I made it clear that… I didn't think he was worthless… Why… doesn't he believe me…?

He held his head tightly, tears that he fought to keep in place trembling in his eyes. He's not denying it at least… but that really means it's true… He really does believe all of that… The Shadow began to chuckle, which changed into a laugh.

"You really zink zat's 'elping you, don't you?" it laughed, "Ze best part about eet eez zat 'iding wouldn't 'ave 'elped you eizer! Eet's too late now! You've fed me more zan enough!"

Its body became shrouded in black, which began to expand into a much larger being.

"What the hell is it doing?" I asked Souji and Yosuke, who clearly knew more about this thing than I did.

"It's taking its true form!" Souji exclaimed, "We're under attack!"

"I didn't deny anyzing!" Bebe exclaimed, evidently worried that the fault was his.

"I don't get it either, but we're going to have to fight anyway," Souji said, drawing his gun.

"Without an analyst?" Yosuke asked, "God, what the hell were we thinking?"

"We'll be fine," I said, "Our group's analysts were hardly a step up from the obvious, anyway."

The black surrounding the Shadow dispersed, revealing a stiffly stuffed plush creature with beady eyes and a fluffy body. It looked like a toy of one of those odd furry critters that accompany magical girls in anime. Yosuke let out a little giggle.

"Okay, my Shadow looked way cooler than that," he snickered.

"Are you for real right now?" I asked him irritably.

"Ehhhh? Why does eet 'ave to look like zat…?" Bebe whined, "Now eet's just being mean…"

We waited for the Shadow to move for a long time, but I really felt like I was just staring at a doll on a shelf. It wasn't doing anything at all but collecting dust and taking up a hell of a lot of space. Seriously, it pisses me off just looking at it.

"Um… is that it…?" Yosuke asked.

Souji watched it silently, his guard up high, which kept mine up as well. There has to be something else…

"I don't ever do anyzing for myself…" said the Shadow lazily, "Zat's why eet's nice 'aving ozers willing to protect me."

From the sky fell four heavy figures, all of which took the form of a Musha. Oh, crap, here we go.

The Musha came at us swiftly, their swords drawn and aimed to sink into our chests. … … We're not even armed properly! And I don't even have my Evoker anymore! Shit! I grabbed Bebe's arm and ran quickly, narrowing avoiding the blade of the Musha's sword. Souji and Yosuke, only armed with guns, attempted to fire at the Shadows, but quickly realized that the bullets were ineffective against the enemy's armor and fled with us.

"Crap! What the hell were we thinking coming in here without any way of defending ourselves?" Yosuke cried.

My eyes fell to the ground and I noticed the objects strewn about the street. Whoever the rioters were left a generous amount of functional destruction. In a quick act of thinking, I picked up a broken wooden beam with splinters at the end.

"Make use of the environment," I said, "Anything goes at this point."

Bebe stooped and picked up a broken brick, quickly hurling it at the Musha closest to us and temporarily stunning it.

"Nice job," I smiled.

He said nothing in return, which was more than enough to let me know that the Shadow's words were still plaguing his mind violently. I guess I'm glad that his feelings aren't completely disabling him, but I wish he didn't feel them at all…

We stopped running for a moment to stand our ground, Souji arming himself with a long steel pipe and Yosuke wielding a pair of broken bottles. Though all of our weapons appeared measly in comparison to the long swords held by the armored Shadows, it was all we had. At this point, we just had to hope for a miracle to get out alive. Anything…

_Thou art I… I am thou…_

The voice rang loudly in my head, and everything began to blur as a throbbing pain took over my head. Why… am I still hearing this voice…? Out of nowhere, a rectangular shape materialized in my hand, faintly yielding to pressure.

…

…could it be…?

As my vision slowly cleared, my eyes fell upon a card in my hand with a familiar print of a mask in blue. I flipped it over to the face and felt my heart thump. I turned my head to the others, realizing I was not alone in this phenomenon as they each stared at a card in their own hand in wonder. I guess… asking for a miracle in a place like this… isn't asking too much. Now… we're ready. Even though it's not an Evoker… I know exactly what to do…

…

Per… so… na…

I gripped the card tightly and it shattered into a blue light. A familiar rush of power coursed through my body and mind as the large, robotic harpist emerged from my soul into the open, blasting in a booming voice from the speaker in his abdomen,

"Thou art I… and I am thou… I am Orpheus. Master of Strings. From the sea of thy soul, I cometh."

Orpheus… is still my Persona in the end. Though he looks a little different with… angel wings…?

"Whoa. Kickass," Yosuke said in awe of my Persona.

"I think this will make the battle a lot easier," Souji said with a faint smile.

He crushed the card in his hand and the same blue energy took over his body, a Bancho-like Persona wielding a large sword appearing behind him,. Yosuke grinned and crushed his own card, his Persona taking the form of a frog-like ninja. Bebe took a moment longer to stare at his own card.

"My Persona…" he murmured.

I had nearly forgotten that Bebe was a new Persona-user when he left Japan. I owe him and his Persona my life. In fact, I've never even seen his Persona before… I think… this will mean a lot to him. Now more than ever…

"You ready to fight alongside me, Bebe?" I asked.

He smiled at the words warmly.

"Hai… I'm ready."

He shattered the card and was also taken over by the blue energy, whipping his scarf and blonde hair in the wind that centered only around him as his Persona emerged from his soul. It was quite a bit bigger than I expected. Well… more overweight, I guess. It was actually pretty short. Its hat was iconic and it wore a military uniform, large angel wings protruding from its back.

"It's time, Napoleon," he said with a faintly proud smile.

…we're all thinking it. Souji and Yosuke both gave him the same look. Why does he have to fit so many stereotypes…?

"Right…" Souji murmured, facing forward again and taking a defensive stand, "Izanagi!"

His Persona swung its sword back and summoned a fierce bolt of lighting from the sky, which struck the Musha closest to us and paralyzed it on contact. Yosuke took a stance of his own and sent forth his Persona with enthusiasm.

"Let's go, Jiraiya!" he exclaimed.

The frog spread out its limbs and performed a front flip, dealing a fair amount of wind damage to each of the Musha. However, the Shadows still retained their strength and recovered from the blows quickly. The second Musha took a gigantic leap toward Jiraiya and swung its sword quickly, only to have the attack intervened by Izanagi, who took no more than a scratch of damage.

I sent Orpheus into the fray with his harp at the ready, all the while feeling somewhat bitter towards these weak attacks. I'm so used to seeing Thunder Reign, Magarudyne, and Vicious Strike that it feels almost embarrassing to watch our group use the weaker attacks as Zio, Magaru, and Bash. Considering Souji and Yosuke's supposed experience and my own experience, this is shameful. I guess I didn't exactly wish for Thanatos, but regardless… I wish I had another Persona who had more than three skills.

Napoleon joined the rest of our Personae, performing an aerial spin and blasting fire into the faces of each of the Musha's armor. All four let out a metallic cry and dropped to the ground like lead, struggling to get to their feet.

"Nice, you found the weakness!" Yosuke grinned.

Bebe faced us quizzically.

"Should… we go in for an All-Out Attack?" he asked.

I smiled at his memory of the old terminology.

"It's your call," I told him.

Without hesitation, Bebe nodded and picked up a broken wooden board laying on the ground beside him.

"Hai, ikou ze! Let's go!" he exclaimed.

Though likely unused to following another's orders, Souji and Yosuke were perfectly okay following the command along with me. Putting ourselves in the midst of the collapsed Musha, we attacked in their vulnerable state. I was worried at first that our improvised weapons wouldn't deal enough damage to the Shadows, but found myself pleasantly surprised that the weakest parts of the Musha's bodies were exposed for us to attack.

Before the enemies had time to rise, we had taken all four of them out quickly, watching in satisfaction as their bodies dissolved into the air.

"Well, that wasn't too bad," Yosuke said, then turning to Souji who held his shoulder where the Shadow had hit Izanagi, "You okay, partner?"

"I'm fine," Souji responded, "It's nothing I can't handle…"

I turned to Bebe with a smile.

"You were really great," I grinned, "That's the first time I've ever seen you fight with your Persona before. How did it feel?"

He grinned back, excitable.

"Zat was exhilarating!" he chirped.

"Uwaa, you're all so mean!"

We turned our heads quickly, looking back in the direction we came from. The large plush still stood in place, immobilized but expressing a great deal of annoyance with our skill.

"Well, eet's not like I don't 'ave ozers willing to 'elp. After all, what sick bastard would leave a baby to fend for eetself?" it asked.

The ground grew dark patches from which new Shadows began to emerge, this time taking the form of Bambino Shadows. Each of the flower-headed infants let out a terrible shriek that rang sharply in our ears and rattled our spines. Though I knew it was unwise to lower my guard, I gave into my instincts to cup my hands over my ears in attempt to drown out the high-pitched wails.

As soon as I submitted, the Shadows took advantage of the moment immediately and came at me full-force with their giant heads, immediately knocking me off balance and to the ground. I found it difficult to see around one of the heads, but I could hear Bebe let out a cry of pain. They're attacking him, and I'm laying here defenseless on the ground with big-headed babies gnawing at my arms with their tiny fangs and smacking me around with their botanical whips. I'm not going to stand for this! I won't break any more promises!

I shattered my card again to have Orpheus blast the Shadows away from me so that I could get to Bebe and get him back to safety. Anything to protect him. But when the Shadow obstructing my view was taken away, I was more than surprised to face a large, winged, two-faced snake with rainbow scales peering into my eyes. I… I remember it… from before…

"Y-Yurlungur…?" I asked, disoriented.

"Tetsuya, 'ang on!"

The other Shadows surrounding my limbs were quickly blasted away by Maragi and Bebe rushed to my side as soon as I was free.

"Tetsuya, daijoubu?" he asked with worry.

"I'm okay. I was trying to get to you. Are you okay?" I asked.

"Eh…?" Bebe asked, tilting his head in confusion, "But zey were attacking you."

…what…?

"Guys there are more coming this way!" Yosuke warned.

Sure enough, four more Shadows were headed in our direction, ready to attack us with everything they had.

"As long as I 'ave ozers willing to save me, I cannot be touched!" the plush Shadow singsonged mockingly.

"It's going to keep summoning backup until we defeat it!" Souji said, "We need to stop focusing on the small fry and deal with the bigger problem!"

"Yeah, I agree, I want that bastard dead," I spat bitterly as Bebe helped me to my feet again.

He stopped silently for a moment, staring at his feet before looking at me.

"Y-You go ahead wizout me…" he murmured.

"No," I said flatly, "I'm not leaving you by yourself."

"I'm okay, Tetsuya. Really, I can 'andle ze backup by myself."

"I don't doubt that you can. I want you to help us with your Shadow. You're the one it's feeding off of."

"But I can't face zat zing again!" Bebe retorted, "I don't want to 'ear anymore!"

"Why, because it's true?" I shot, then feeling bad when I realized that it struck a sensitive nerve, "…look… I… I know these are things you didn't want me to know about you, but… I can't help you unless you let me. I just… think it's better if you face the truth rather than run away from it."

Bebe trembled faintly, looking back at the plush bitterly.

"Watashi… I… I don't deny zat… I 'ave feared becoming zat person…" he said quietly.

"And you think letting us face him in place of you will make you any different from him?" I asked, "I know it sounds harsh, but as is reality. If you don't want to be the worthless coward he says you are, go prove him wrong. Prove me right."

"Hey, let's go!" Yosuke snapped impatiently.

Bebe looked into my eyes.

"Do you really believe in me…?" he asked.

"I do," I promised, "And, hey… It's not like you're ever alone. I'm here if you need help. Don't be afraid to ask for it."

"Oh my God! Will you hurry up?" Yosuke yelled.

"Keep your pants on," I snapped.

"Okay," Bebe replied suddenly, "I'll go if you go wiz me."

"Until the end," I promised him with a smile.

"OH MY GOD!" Yosuke hollered in a high-pitched scream.

"Cool your shit, we're coming!" I hissed.

We caught up with the other two and headed back towards Bebe's Shadow, prepared for the attack. The closer we came to the plush toy, the more enemies appeared, coming at us from all angles. We dodged as many of them as we could, attacking the ones we couldn't avoid quickly to get back on track. A cluster of airborne Shadows approached us, and Souji had Izanagi out in front to fend them off.

"Yosuke and I will stay behind to keep the servants distracted," he said, "You guys take out the host."

"Got it."

The two quickly fell behind us as we went on ahead, dodging the enemies we could.

"Don't come any closer!" the Shadow wailed, "I can't take being 'urt!"

"Zat's enough out of you!" Bebe shouted, crushing his card to send Napoleon out and attack the Shadow with Agi.

As soon as the fire blasted it, it let out a horrible scream, teetering. Even from such a weak hit, it was taking so much damage… the Shadow itself was very weak.

"'Ow dare you!" it snarled, "I'll see to eet zat you all pay!"

The number of surrounding enemies increased significantly, all sorts of familiar Shadows like Giants, Jotun, and Maya emerging from the ground to defend the host. A cold claw gripped my ankle and pulled me down sharply. I was on the ground before I could even look at the Maya responsible. Bebe turned to look back at me, but I knew I couldn't allow him to get distracted by my dilemma.

"Leave me! Go!" I yelled.

Though reluctant, Bebe understood that I was capable of defending myself, and he continued on.

"We'll get to you in a minute!" Souji called to me, "Just hang- AUGH!"

A Giant from further back drove its sword against Izanagi and sent him crashing into a wrecked building, causing further damage to the city. Yosuke attempted to send Jiraiya in to provide assistance, but was quickly hindered by a nearby Raven. This isn't good. We're completely outnumbered and the odds of our survival are looking slim… We can't afford to die here like this… What would even happen to us if we died in a dream…?

No. I can't look at it that way. We'll be fine. We're just getting used to the battle atmosphere again. I swung the wooden beam at the Maya holding my ankle, releasing myself from its grip but unable to defeat it in a single blow. Staggered by the hit, the Maya was temporarily delayed in its response, though I still wasn't quick enough to counter it. The claw of the Maya raked my arm sharply, the pain shrieking through my body in a single spurt of bright red blood. When I let out a grunt, I heard a shriek in unison that identified quickly. No, he's in trouble…!

But as I looked up to see what was amiss, I realized something bizarre. Not a single enemy was within three feet of Bebe… so why was he holding his arm as if…?

…

That's… the arm that I injured…

…

As he recovered from whatever ailed him in the first place, I destroyed the Maya holding me back and leapt to my feet to rejoin him.

"You're not so strong," the Shadow taunted Bebe, "See what 'appens when your boyfriend is shattered!"

Before I could take another step forward, a rather large Shadow that took the form of a wrestler emerged before me and began to charge for a hit. I won't have time to block this! And if I get hit… …will he feel it too?

Just before the impact, another figure threw himself between us, taking the hit first and then crashing into me. It didn't feel like I'd been hit with nearly a much force physically, but my lungs became tight and I found it impossible to inhale. Both Bebe and I lay defenseless on the ground, gaping silently for air we couldn't grasp like fish out of water. Bebe had to have felt more of the pain… but I can't imagine how he could possibly feel a pain worse than this… I thought… I could have handled something like this…

Jiraiya dove in quickly and dealt a swift blow to the servant's head, leaving us alone to catch our breath.

"You guys alright?" he asked.

A breath found its way through my newly opened esophagus and filled my lungs with the precious space I'd been craving. Bebe finally seemed to swallow his own breath of air, which seemed to be all he needed to find his footing once again as he whirled around to face his Shadow again with a terrifying glare.

"I… am not… worthless," he snarled, "As long… as I 'ave Tetsuya… I am serving a purpose. And I know… zat 'e's not using me for anyzing… If I wasn't worth eet… 'E wouldn't 'ave come to France looking for me. I made my own decisions… I left Uncle… and I worked 'ard to get where I am today. I 'aven't 'ad time to realize all of my potential… So I'm pursuing my dreams now, and I'm willing to make mistakes along ze way."

Everything was still as he spoke. Almost… listening.

"As long as I stay by my dreams… I 'ave nozing to be afraid of. Not even becoming you."

The Shadow flinched at the statement, and Bebe lifted his hand with his card rested in his fingers.

"Spit whatever lies about me you want," he said, "But when you put Tetsuya in danger, zat eez where I draw ze line."

The card shattered and Napoleon darted towards the Shadow's head like a bullet. When he made the impact, the plush exploded with a squeal, fluffy white fibers snowing down and joining the debris below. The surrounding Shadows dissolved into nothing, leaving us completely alone in the ruins.

Souji and Yosuke caught up with us quickly, still scanning the area cautiously.

"You okay?" Souji asked us.

"I think so… I murmured, "…Bebe?"

He was still for awhile, watching the sky as the fibers drifted around in the dusty air. He slowly turned to face me, a single tear running down his cheek as he nodded shakily.

"Y-Yeah," he said with a shuddering breath, "I zink… I'm gonna be just fine."

I smiled and took him in my arms with relief as he returned the embrace warmly.

"Tetsuya… I… I'm sorry zat I ever… ever worried about somezing like zat of you…"

"It's okay, baby… …I love you…"

"I love you, too…"

"Mergh."

"Screw you, Yosuke," I added sweetly.

As we released each other, Souji smiled back at us with a slightly tired smile.

"You two will be fine now, right?" he asked, "No more doubt?"

"None at all," Bebe promised.

He looked down at my arm and let out a small gasp.

"Uwaa! Tetsuya, what 'appened to your arm?" he cried.

My arm? What the hell happened to his? It didn't even appear bloody, yet it had hurt enough to hinder him. Before I could even ask about it, he quickly shattered his card again and Napoleon flashed white energy around me immediately. Not only did the pain from my arm disappear, but the pain ringing in my chest left as well. As soon as the energy went away, Bebe looked at his own arm curiously. … …no way…

"…the pain went away…" I said softly.

Bebe didn't respond.

"Yeah, that's what Diarama does," Yosuke said, as if I were stupid and had no idea.

"No… mine went away…" Bebe said.

It was then that Souji and Yosuke also began to understand that something was off. We came into this world searching for answers, and yet… we've only raised more questions. What is this place…? What are the Shadows doing here…? Why did denying his Shadow self put Bebe in more danger…? …and why do we feel each other's pain…?

Souji looked at us both and then at Yosuke.

"I had a feeling the Shadows were here… but… there are still so many things that don't add up…" he murmured.

Yosuke sighed and looked at us.

"I… think it's best if we call this off for now," he said, "After what we've been through today… I don't think it's a good idea to keep going. Any idea how we get out of this place…?"

I exchanged a glance with Bebe. We both knew he was right. The only way we were going to be able to find answers was if we didn't overexert ourselves. We could always come back… couldn't we…? I looked back to Yosuke slowly and nodded.

"Just wake up."


	11. Deduction

**Rendezvous**

**Chapter Ten – Deduction**

My eyes strained to keep open while being deliberately blinded by the small light pointed directly at my pupil. The paper beneath me continued to crackle obnoxiously, making the experience more infuriating.

"I told you, I'm fine," I grumbled to the doctor irritably.

"Hardly!" Yukari barked from the other side of the tiny room, "We couldn't get any of you to wake up for half an hour! Do you even know how scared we all were? We thought you fell comatose!"

"You should be used to how long I sleep by now…"

"Yeah, and the last time you passed out that long, you died!"

I looked quickly at the doctor, shocked that Yukari would even bring up such a topic in front of him, but was confused when he didn't react. I know he speaks Japanese…

"He appears fine, Takeba-san," he said, unfazed, "No sign of concussion. He does appear a bit fatigued and the results of the blood test are indicative of anemia, but he's otherwise healthy."

The doctor smiled at me.

"Make sure you rest properly tonight," he said, "Get plenty of fluids and nourishment, take some vitamins, and try to take it easy."

Whatever, I'm fine.

"Where's Bebe?" I asked flatly.

"'Ere I am," said a small voice approaching the doorway.

Bebe leaned against it with most of his weight, smiling at me shyly.

"Hey," Yukari said, "What did the doctor say?"

"Just to rest," Bebe replied, "She didn't seem too worried about my condition."

"Exactly. This was completely pointless," I muttered.

"It was a precaution," Yukari retorted, "Besides, Aigis wasn't going to let it go until she knew you were okay. You even had Teddie hyperventilating."

"Well, rest assured, he's going to be just fine," the doctor said confidently, "I'm going to check up on the other two. Take care, Saito-san."

As soon as he walked out of the room, Bebe rushed to me quickly.

"Which finger did zey prick?" he asked apprehensively.

I held out my non-dominant left hand, displaying the bandaged index finger. Bebe held up his right hand, which I knew was his non-dominant hand from how he held his fan, and showed me his index finger.

"Which one 'urts?" he asked.

"Both…" I muttered.

Bebe let out a disappointed sigh.

"I knew eet…" he muttered, "Zis eez crazy…"

"What's crazy?" Yukari asked, "Other than the fact that you two, Souji-kun, and Yosuke-kun all dropped cold in the middle of campus and think you're perfectly fine?"

"I don't understand what eez going on…" Bebe murmured, "'Ow can we feel each ozer's pain…?"

"I wonder how long it's been going on…" I said quietly, "…there was… that time at the airport when Yosuke hit me."

"I 'ad a 'eadache…" Bebe murmured, "…and at ze café when I bumped my knee. Marie said you were 'aving sympathy pains."

I tried to remember back further to other instances.

"What about before I found you?" I asked, "Did you feel any strange pains? Anything in your legs?"

Bebe appeared surprised.

"H-Hai… demo… I zought eet was because of 'ow much I was walking…" he said, "Ze school nurse told me zat ze pain was most likely psychosomatic."

"No, I was having growing pains… so this has been going on at least since I came back…" I muttered.

"Wait… so there is something going on…?" Yukari asked.

"Yeah, but we're not sure what…" I said, "Whenever one of us gets hurt, the other feels it too."

"Why didn't you say something to the doctor about it then?"

"You really think the doctors will know?" I asked irately.

"I'm just trying to help…" she sighed angrily, "Sorry I was worried about you."

I sighed and slid off the patient's table, dragging some of the wrinkled paper with me.

"Look… I'm sorry we scared everyone… but… we're okay, I think," I said, "None of us are in comas right now, so we should be fine. I'm just irritated because we're wasting our time here, that's all."

"Wasting time making sure it's really nothing?" Yukari asked bitterly.

"We 'ave eet under control, Yukari-sama," Bebe told her, "We control when we wake and sleep."

Yukari looked at him with obvious confusion.

"Wh-What are you talking about?"

I shook my head.

"We'll tell you when we tell the others. No sense in explaining it twice," I said, "Besides… it's hard enough to explain it once…"

The three of us headed back to the hallway, leaving space for the nurses and doctors to get through to the rest of their patients. Souji was already waiting outside one of the rooms calmly, sparing us a glance of acknowledgement.

"Hey, are you okay?" Yukari asked.

"Um… sort of…" he responded lowly, "I still feel a little sore. The doctors just told me to take ibuprofen…"

"Oh, Souji-kun, gomenasai…" Bebe muttered guiltily, "Tetsuya was bleeding, and I didn't even…"

"It's okay," Souji assured him, "It's nothing I can't handle. Besides, if I was really hurt, Yosuke would have healed me…"

That didn't seem to be the only thing on his mind, though I decided not to speak up about it. His entire body was held tightly, tense with stress. I wonder… was he worried about whether or not that world had to do with his cousin…? If it didn't, then we were really on the wrong track. But… even if it wasn't the assignment, we can't just abandon it. We know it holds a Shadow nest now… I guess… if I was in his situation, I would feel a little torn as well…

Yosuke finally stepped out of the room behind the doctor, arms crossed but briefly unfolded to spare us a small wave. He looked over at his partner with concern, also noticing his stressed behavior.

"You alright, man?" he asked.

"I don't want to be here. I just want to leave…" Souji said quietly.

His friend seemed to understand what we didn't.

"Oh… okay, let's go. Come on," he said, walking by his side slowly.

Silent, the three of us followed behind them with concern, though unsure of what we could say. On the way out, we were halted by a group of the hospital's staff, rushing in an unconscious patient on a stretcher and speaking over each other with medical terms that I wasn't versed in. However, it was my understanding that the patient was another comatose victim. I wonder… how many of these they get every day…

After they had passed by us, we continued out into the waiting room where all of the others sat around with worried families and anxious children. Aigis was the first to spot us, on her feet and at my side all in less than five seconds.

"Tetsuya, are you okay?" she asked apprehensively.

"We're fine, Aigis, really," I assured her, "The doctors didn't find anything terribly wrong with any of us aside from some aches and results of a poor diet…"

Her entire face relaxed and her eyes closed, the slightest smile curving the corners of her lips.

"Thank goodness it wasn't anything too serious…" she sighed, relieved.

"Souji-kun, what's wrong…?" Chie asked, noticing her partner's abnormal condition.

Yosuke shook his head.

"Last time we were in a hospital," he said simply, which she seemed to understand well enough.

"We'll find her, okay?" she said, "We won't have a repeat of last time…"

"I don't want to see her like that again…" Souji murmured, "I don't want to fail her again… and lose her forever…"

"We won't lose her, Souji," Yosuke said, "You've gotta believe that, okay? Nanako-chan's a strong girl. She fought once, she can fight again."

"Yeah, it's still all up in the air at this point," Junpei spoke up, attempting to bring comfort to the group, "We thought we were never gonna find Bebe and he's standing with us now, healthy as a horse. Anything can happen."

Souji let out a shuddering sigh, trying to let the words sink in and bring him peace of mind. Though still clearly disturbed by the environment, he put on a serious face and calmed himself down.

"You guys are right… I'm sorry," he said, "There's no point in letting doubt drag me down like that…"

"The doctors told me you were here."

I turned my head in a quick reflex to the voice, familiar with it as something I couldn't ignore. Something I wasn't allowed to ignore. A woman with long violet-red hair stood by the front desk, her eyes sharp, but friendly as she attempted something of a gentle smile. Such conflicted feelings of friendly warmth and cold air radiated around her, and I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to feel towards her. She looked directly at us, so she must think she knows… …

Oh my God…

"Mitsuru-senpai!" Yukari chirped, running to our senpai quickly.

"Mitsuru-senpai! Eet 'as been too long!" Bebe cried happily.

"Hello, Bebe. It's been awhile," Mitsuru said with a smile, which she then spared to the rest of us, "I'm glad to see you all here."

She turned her gaze to me and the smile became a bit warmer.

"Hello, Saito," she said, "…I'm… I'm happy to see you here in good health."

The hell…? Since when did she ever say anything sweet to me…? I mean, I guess she never got to have any last words with me, but… I'm not entirely comfortable with her kindness.

"Um… same…?" I responded, unsure of what I was supposed to say.

Mitsuru turned her attention back to Yukari, who was evidently rather excited by her surprise appearance.

"Whoa… that chick is your senpai…?" Yosuke whispered to me, his eyes wide in sheer awe.

"Yeah, she is and always has been," I said.

"Dude! She's totally hot! And she's totally hot for you! Are you insane?"

"Yosuke, come on!" Souji hissed quietly.

"Um… n-no, I don't-" I muttered.

"Oh, right, right, right, you're gay," Yosuke said.

"I'm not ga- ugh. Never mind."

"Saito?"

My attention was at my senpai inexplicably. Still after all this time, I'm still obedient to her voice.

"Let's not crowd the other patients," she said, "We can catch up in one of the conference rooms."

"Sweet," Junpei grinned, "We'll be just like those doctors in the medical shows Chidori likes to watch."

We all followed Mitsuru back into the hallway and past several patients' rooms.

"So how long have you been in Nanparaux?" Yukari asked her excitedly, "I had no idea you were here!"

"My jet got in this morning," Mitsuru responded, "When you told me you were staying longer and not to book another flight, I decided to come by our Nanparaux site and check up on you."

"Our? Like, you own this hospital?" Chie asked curiously.

"Yes. My family is the head of several businesses and I've held my place as president of the Kirijo Company for the past four years."

"President? Wow, but you're so young…" Yukiko said, clearly in admiration of her position.

The mood became tense as Mitsuru failed to respond to the statement. I know Yukiko didn't know or anything, but… I really wish she hadn't said anything at all. I didn't want to see Mitsuru dwelling on the memory of why it was that she was already under so much pressure again. In attempt to clear the air, Junpei cleared his throat to change the subject.

"Um… so… Tetsuya, Bebe, and two of our new friends were kinda comatose earlier," he said.

Mitsuru looked back at the four of us quickly, and then looking to Junpei with a frown.

"I don't think so, Iori. They wouldn't be on their feet right now, let alone conscious," she said, "And be careful how you use that term. We have a lot of patients with grieving families and I don't want them under the false assumption that we've found any cures…"

She stood outside one of the larger rooms, holding the door open and allowing us to go inside before her. In the middle of the room was a large table with ample space for our rather large group. In the back was a dry erase board with various symptoms ended with question marks pointed at the word "coma". Likely, this has been frustrating to the doctors trying to find the cause of this epidemic and who it will affect. We all took a seat at the table, gazing back at those across from us awkwardly. Mitsuru closed the door behind her and drew the blinds of the windows that displayed out into the hallway before joining us.

"So what exactly are your circumstances?" she asked, "What made you all decide to stay?"

Souji took on the responsibility of introducing his group as a team of Persona-users from the countryside, and also explaining their situation and how we had volunteered to stay behind to help them look for Nanako. Mitsuru crossed her arms thoughtfully as he wrapped up.

"Are you absolutely positive that she's here in Nanparaux?" she asked.

"It's the only lead we've got…" Souji said, "Whoever responsible was crafty when he took her and didn't leave us much to go on. The forensics team didn't find anything that was entirely helpful aside from a confirmation that Nanako was present in the apartment. Other than that, we're not sure where she is or what's happened to her… We just know that the kidnapper came back here afterwards. If anything, we can attempt to track him down and extract answers."

He looked over at me, almost to ask for permission to bring up what we had just experienced. I nodded slowly, consenting. He looked back at her unsurely.

"Um… we haven't found anything regarding her whereabouts, but… we found something else."

Mitsuru sat up a little, more interested.

"Something else?" she asked.

"Yeah, what's this something else?" Chie asked.

The others had also leaned forward in their seats with curiosity. Souji was beginning to shy away from the explanation and he looked to me again, handing off the pressure. Someone's got to do it, so I guess I will.

"A Shadow nest," I said.

The very word was heavy enough to sink air. Everyone sat up a little straighter, trying to grasp what I had said.

"A Shadow nest?" Yukari exclaimed.

"No way!" Teddie cried, "If the Shadows were here, I'd smell 'em!"

"And the only Shadow my sensors detect is the one in the room," Aigis said, her tone on somewhat of a bitter side.

"We know what we saw," Yosuke argued, "Those were definitely Shadows…"

"And zey weren't exactly… 'ere," Bebe murmured, "Zey were… eto… in… ze ozer world."

"Other world?" Junpei asked, "Don't tell me you guys were out floatin' around in space…"

"Actually…" Yosuke murmured.

"We found it out in the courtyard," I said, "At first, we thought it was just a dream, but… It's definitely real."

"Like… a dream world," Yosuke said, struggling to explain it.

Souji crossed his arms thoughtfully.

"It seems that the Shadows are taking on their old role from the Midnight Channel," he said, "They're spawning from true selves and toying with the host's emotions. Unfortunately, they seem stronger than before. Accepting them as a self didn't seem to do any good."

Bebe lowered his head, ashamed of what he was remembering.

"I… I didn't feel like zat was who I am at all… not yet at least…" he murmured, "Maybe… eet was because I accepted eet on ze surface but not deep inside… Eet said zat 'iding wouldn't 'ave 'elped me any more zan admitting…"

Teddie tilted his head.

"Huh…? But a Shadow is part of us just as much as a Bear-sona is," he murmured, "Why would it act out if you accepted it…?"

"Like we know…" Yosuke said, "That's why we're worried about it. Clearly, these Shadows have fixed the loophole or something."

"But… as a Shadow-"

"You're as human as any of us. Shut up."

"Hold on, start over," Chie said, rubbing her forehead, "How exactly did you find this place?"

Souji went back to the beginning for our friends' sake, carefully explaining the intricate details of what we had been through from his own perspective. Though the group seemed lost when he described the space with the colored bubbles, they remained silent and listened through the rest of it: how we had found the ruins where we encountered Bebe's Shadow and the smaller Shadows defending it. Once he finished, he turned his attention from the group back to Bebe, his brow furrowed.

"But something is still bothering me…" he said, "Your neighbor was a coma victim, right? So you saw him in the Dream World after you heard about his fall?"

"Hai, in ze bubble. 'E seemed… in trouble," Bebe said, "Like somezing was after 'im."

Souji took a moment to process the information.

"That last part is new…" he said thoughtfully, "…but I wonder why it is that you saw your neighbor there of all people… Unless…"

The tension in the air was ready to snap as he left us hanging with the incomplete thought. Seriously, why get on something and then keep it to yourself? Jeez…

"Unless…?" Mitsuru prompted.

"Unless maybe he really is there," Souji finished, "And… if he is… maybe it was the Shadows he was afraid of. Why he would be there or where he is now is a complete mystery, but I have to assume if Bebe saw him once, we'll see him again."

Mitsuru turned to Bebe.

"Were there others in this Dream World?" she asked.

"N-Not zat we saw, no…" Bebe stammered, "Just Ivon and ze Shadows."

"And do you intend to go back?" Mitsuru asked.

"We have to," I spoke up, "Whether or not it has to do with what we went in for doesn't matter. If the Shadows are back, we can't assume they'll stay quarantined without our interference. Not returning would be irresponsible."

"That's true…" Teddie said, "If they're attacking people again, they probably won't stop. If humans are stepping on their ground, then they probably don't like it."

"But how did this guy get there in the first place?" Junpei asked.

"It was either by accident or by choice," Yosuke said, "Tetsuya and Bebe found it on accident, but they made the choice to leave and go back."

If I had to guess, Bebe's neighbor didn't get stuck in the Dream World by choice. If it had been by choice, he would be able to get himself out. It could explain why we never saw him, but I highly doubt that. Why run if you can get out? And assuming the guy doesn't have a Persona, I doubt this ordeal left him an option for escape.

"So what if he's still stuck inside the Dream World?" I asked, "We have to go in after him, don't we?"

"Well… yeah," Chie responded, "You're right about not turning a blind eye to the situation, but I can't help but wondering what difference it'll make if we're saving him in a dream."

"The Dream World is real, Chie, we all saw it," Yosuke insisted.

"I'm not doubting that. I'm just… wondering if his presence in the dream is real or if it was like a mirage. Something to lure you in…"

"If that's the case, it would be dangerous to go back," Junpei said, then grinning, "Like that's ever stopped us in the past, right? We faced Nyx even though Ryo-"

"Just leave it at danger never stopped us," I said bitterly.

Mitsuru smiled, I assume because she understood my shortness and was amused by it like the others.

"From what I'm understanding," she said, "You intend to return to the Dream World with the others as soon as possible."

Seriously, that's the conclusion she draws? Damn, the woman is brilliant and still comes up with the obvious.

"Tomorrow morning if we can," Souji said, "I'm not sure going back now would do the four of us any good."

"Yeah, not so much," Yosuke agreed with a wry smile, "Even though we were sleeping, I've never felt more tired."

"The Dark Hour used to drain more of our energy than normal activities," Yukari said, "I guess it's not entirely unexpected to feel that way."

"It didn't exactly help that we had to improvise with weapons either," I said, "I don't know how long broken pieces of wood and glass are going to benefit us if the Shadows get much stronger…"

"Saito," Mitsuru said with a gentle smile, "Don't forget that I'm part of this now. If you need support, I'll be more than happy to provide it."

She took out an expensive-looking phone, sliding her finger across the screen and examining it.

"I won't be available to accompany you for awhile, but I can send someone in my place. He'll bring you whatever you need before you head out and should even be able to go with you if you wish."

"No offense, but do we really want him coming with us?" Yosuke asked skeptically, "If he can't handle the Shadows-"

"He can," Mitsuru spoke up sharply, causing all of us to jolt back into our seats at the icy tone.

"Yes, ma'am," Yosuke murmured timidly.

Finally, someone who can put this guy in his place. Thank God for Mitsuru…

Abruptly, the door opened and a young secretary poked her head inside the room.

"P-Pardon, Miss Kirijo?" she piped up, "I have an urgent call for you on Line 1…"

Mitsuru nodded patiently as she replaced her phone, though she seemed a little tired.

"I'll be there in a moment. Thank you for letting me know," she said, dismissing the secretary before turning back to us, "I'll have him meet you outside the Fashion Academy tomorrow morning at nine-thirty. I don't mean to cut this short, but I'm needed elsewhere."

"It's okay. We understand," Yukari said with a smile, "I'll text you and let you know how we're doing later on."

Mitsuru smiled back.

"Sounds good," she said, "I wish you all luck tomorrow. Just make sure you're ready."

We promised to her that we would and stood to leave. After bidding proper farewells, we made our way out of the hospital to leave Mitsuru to her work, and we stood around outside to conclude tomorrow's plan. Although, Mitsuru had done most of that for us already with her specialized back-up…

"I 'ope ze academy doesn't get upset wiz us for 'aving weapons on campus…" Bebe murmured.

"You're with us, remember?" Yosuke asked, "Besides, push comes to shove, you can tell people they're part of a cosplay…"

"I just hope the weapons will be something we can all use…" Chie muttered, "I'm really more martial arts-oriented…"

"It doesn't really matter," Souji said, "This is temporary. Just for tomorrow. If we have to upgrade, I don't see how that would be an issue. For now, let's worry less about the weapons and more about the Shadows."

"Souji's right," I said, "Our weapons hardly mattered once we had our Personas anyway. We just have to make sure that we're prepared with as much back-up as possible until we can get used to the Dream World. Once we're there tomorrow, we have to be ready to fight at any moment."

Teddie smiled at us admirably.

"You're both beary cool-headed… It's like having two Senseis!" he exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Junpei said, "Who are we appointing leader?"

…oh. …again, Junpei is bringing up a good point. Souji and I were both the leaders of our respective groups… Aigis was too, but I assume she would rather follow than lead me. And she's already looking at me, which indicates her vote. I never really thought about following anyone else. I don't think Souji is used to that thought either, though he looks at me as if to modestly offer the responsibility if I want it. He has pretty good leadership qualities, but the fact that he's allowing another to have a say doesn't look good. In fact, he's been doing a lot of pushing off responsibility and waiting for cues today. He was pretty strong in the Dream World, but he's being far too submissive now… I know he's been through a lot today, but we can't let ourselves be shaken. Then again… I'm not speaking out either. If I want to lead, I have to prove I still can.

"I think we should have two Senseis!"

I looked at Teddie quickly.

"Wait, what?" I asked.

Teddie struck a dramatically pensive pose.

"Well… naturally I would follow Sensei to the ends of the Earth. I can't bear the thought of following somebody else. But I think Tetsuya's friends feel the same way about him. So we should make it easier on ourselves by not having to fight. Therefore, two Senseis!"

"'E 'as a good point…" Bebe said, "No offense, Souji-kun, but I usually take my cues from Tetsuya. I mean… zat's 'ow eet's always been."

Souji shook his head.

"None taken. I completely understand," he said, then smiling at me, "I'm just glad we've found a reasonable solution to make this easier for everybody without having to get into an argument. It would be an honor to lead with you, Tetsuya."

An honor…? Jeez, why is this guy so polite…?

"Y-Yeah. It's an honor to lead with you too…" I murmured awkwardly.

I don't know what else to do with that statement. I'm just going to forget it was ever said. Uncomfortably, I turned my attention back to the others and dismissed them for the rest of the day, seeing as we had nothing to do until morning. Yukari said something about going shopping with Aigis, Chie, and Yukiko, which was apparently giving the latter two some much-needed time together. Yosuke offered to hang out with Junpei to get some time to know each other better, immediately giving Teddie the opportunity to drag Souji off elsewhere to keep him company. With our friends split up, Bebe and I were left alone again.

Out of all the times we've been alone today, I have the littlest to say right now. Even though he'd reached his epiphany back in the Dream World, I can't help but feel like not all of those feelings are entirely gone. Nothing could convince him before. I find it hard to convince myself of things without another's words, and even then I can find doubt, so I'm sure that he has the same difficulty. He turned to me and gave me a gentle smile, as if to reassure me that he would be okay. Reaching out, he took my hand in his and stroked it with his thumb. He knows it's still bothering me… so it must be bothering him too…

"At least Yosuke-kun eezn't 'ere to groan about zis..." he said with a soft chuckle.

I found myself able to smile and I gripped his hand a bit tighter. Though I had managed a genuine warm gesture, he still seemed a little bothered by my silence.

"Um… I still 'ave a class today. I already missed my first, but I really shouldn't miss anozer… Eet's only an hour and fifteen minutes and eet's not very late. Maybe we can go out after?" he asked.

I smiled again, though not as much as I could have. He looks how I feel—completely exhausted. I don't think he really feels like going out, I think he just wants to find a way to make it up to me. I stroked back his hair affectionately.

"We'll see," I said, "The doctor told us both to rest. It's probably best if we don't do anything too strenuous."

Bebe looked at his feet.

"Wakarimasu… I understand…" he murmured in disappointment, as if I had scolded him.

I'm not really sure why he thinks I'm mad at him… As a final reassurance, I pressed my lips to his forehead and offered a friendlier smile. Both gestures seemed to help as he smiled at me shyly after. Without another word, we walked hand-in-hand back to the academy.

* * *

I lay in bed quietly, staring at the ceiling as I waited for Bebe to come to bed after his shower. The events of today were exhausting, yet I feel so restless. We have a lot to do tomorrow if we want to find Ivon. Luckily, once we introduce the rest of our friends to the Dream World, the fight won't be nearly as difficult. Assuming they can summon their Personas the way we did, anyway…

I still don't entirely understand what happened with mine. Yukari said that Aigis had inherited Orpheus after I died… so why did he leave her? And why the angel wings…? Even Yurlungur's appearance was different… Are the wings there because I died or something else? …and why Yurlungur? In my past life, my soul held a vast number of Personas, all of which seem to have disappeared. Obviously, I'll have to find them again with my new soul. Even Orpheus' ultimate form: Messiah. Why…? Of all of those Personas, why did Yurlungur stay? He was my first Temperance Arcana Persona, who I managed to find shortly after Bebe left. Could my connection with Bebe have influenced that…?

…Bebe…

He really… struggled more than he let on. And he stressed that his time without me wasn't easy. But the idea that he really… really came close to committing what I feared… is disturbing. If I hadn't found him when I did, what then? How long would he have waited before just giving up? And the idea that he held onto that secret… that he kept it away from me… I thought he could tell me everything… Obviously… he doesn't feel the same.

I turned my head to my unpacked bags and sat up slowly. The day before we were supposed to leave, he gave me a stack of letters that he had written to me while I was… gone. Things he wanted to tell me. Things I missed. Things I wasn't there for. Deep and personal feelings…

Maybe… Maybe those letters can give me a better idea of what he went through… An explanation and the answers I can't get from him in person. With a quick check of the bathroom door, I stood and went to my bags to retrieve the neatly packed away letters. My fingers finally met the paper stack and I withdrew it carefully to avoid tearing them.

I stared at the first page for a while, hesitant to go on. Everything… Everything he wrote in these letters was something worth telling me. I have to remember that… these are things he either wouldn't tell me in person or things he would have told me at some point. Either way, I'm about to get inside his head… It feels… strange. But… I have to find some answers. I want to know everything I can about the one I love. I have to be brave.

After a momentary stare at the salutation, I took the letters back to the bed and sat down with the first page, heaving an apprehensive sigh as I began…

_Dear Tetsuya,_

_Eet's been two months now. Two months since Yukari-sama told me what 'appened. Bebe didn't want to believe 'er, demo… I feel like you would 'ave written back if you 'ad been okay. I know zat you are not where I want you to be. I know you can't 'ear me anymore. But I don't want to believe you aren't zere. I want to believe zat you're reading zis back 'ome, smiling and remembering what eet was like to be able to see and 'old each ozer._

I felt my heart contract a bit at the mood. I could almost hear him cry…

_I've been trying so 'ard to come to terms wiz ze idea zat you're gone. Bebe tried to get 'elp from Uncle, but 'e doesn't know 'ow else to 'elp me cope. I… I 'ave to confess… I wanted more zan anyzing to be wiz you, zough you are not in 'Eaven or 'Ell… No matter where I went, eet wouldn't be wiz you. But even so, I didn't want to live in a world where I couldn't be by your side…_

_ Last night, I found myself wiz a piece of broken glass, and I… I couldn't bear eet anymore. I wanted so desperately to end my pain… Demo, Bebe was too afraid to finish. Even zough I 'ad nozing after you were gone, I couldn't do eet… Instead, I decide zat ze only real way to 'elp me zrough zis eez to pretend zat I can still ask you for 'elp… I can pretend zat you're still zere to keep my chin up and promise me eet will get better. Whezer you can 'ear me or not, I still love you, Tetsuya… And I'm sorry zat I ever zought about doing anyzing zat would 'ave 'urt you if you were still alive… You don't 'ave to forgive me, because I can't forgive myself… I just want you… someone… to understand 'ow 'ard eet eez living a life wiz nozing to live for. I miss you, my angel… Please 'elp me to be strong…_

"Tetsuya?"

My entire body jolted and took me three inches off the mattress before I looked beside me. Bebe stood by the bathroom door in his pajamas and a towel over his shoulders that he had used to tousle dry his rather messy blonde hair. He stared at me with concern, evidently discomforted by my expression, and his eyes fell to the letter in my hand. He scanned the first sentence and horror befell his face.

"O-Oh! Gomenasai, I didn't mean to leave zat in zere!" he cried, hurrying to me and attempting to take back the words that I'd already seen.

I quickly pulled the letter out of his reach before he could remove it and threw my arms around him tightly as he leaned over, holding him close to me. His entire body trembled slightly… He really… never wanted me to see this side of him. And I guess I didn't want to see it either, but… it's better that I know about it than for him to have kept it away from me all this time. He wants me to help keep him strong… And I can't do that unless he lets me in…

"I can hear you now…" I whispered, "But you have to speak up."

He shuddered a little, his arms slowly sliding around me as he sat beside me.

"Tetsuya, I'm so sorry…" he croaked.

"I'm not mad at you, Bebe… I just wish you trusted me enough to tell me these things…"

His body let out a brief but violent quake.

"Tetsuya… Watashi… I… I don't distrust you… I just didn't want you knowing exactly 'ow stupid I was… To zink zat I could solve my problems by running away… By doing somezing so selfish…"

His hold tightened.

"I didn't want you to see what kind of person I really was…"

I looked him in the eyes, pained enough by the tears that trembled in his eyes to feel my own tears rise.

"But you're not that person," I said, "In the end, you knew it wouldn't solve anything. Look at you now… You left your Uncle and decided to live your own life. You went to the school you wanted to go to, got a job, got your own place, and even managed to avoid being taken away from it all. I don't care about a fleeting thought that you had… I care about the responsible decision you made. You're not stupid, Bebe… If you were stupid, you wouldn't be here right now. You're brilliant… You're brilliant, mature, and absolutely beautiful… And you're worth so much more than you give yourself credit for…"

His cheeks were bright red when he pressed his lips to mine for a moment, and still flushed when he pulled away to look me in the eyes.

"I love you, Tetsuya…" he said softly, "…and from now on… I promise I won't keep anyzing from you…"

He held his pinkie out to me, which I smiled at and locked with my own pinkie as I pecked his lips.

"I love you, too," I whispered.

He looked at the rest of the stack of his writing for awhile, hesitant. He already promised not to hide anymore. What else hasn't he told me…?

"Um… Tetsuya, zere's… somezing else I wrote to you," he said quietly, "And… I've never felt comfortable telling anyone about eet. I was going to 'ide ze letter, but now… I zink eet's better if you read eet."

"Is it part of the stack?" I asked, "Or did you already hide it?"

He shook his head.

"No… eet's still in zere somewhere. I… don't want you to get too upset after you read eet, okay…? Just… remember zat I'm okay?"

"Yeah. I will…" I said.

I'm glad he's not going to hide anything else from me at least, even if I have to wait to find it in the letters. But… there's still one more issue we haven't really addressed regarding what happened back there. …and I think I know how I can help… I pushed off the bed and went back to my bags, rummaging around for my journal. When I found it, I brought it back to the bed and handed it to Bebe. He stared at it for awhile, then looking back up at me.

"Kore wa…?" he asked quietly.

I nodded.

"I want you to read it," I said, "There's not a thing in here that I didn't mean with all my heart. When you gave this to me, you said I could use it to write things that I didn't necessarily find the best way to say out loud. And… that's what I did for six-hundred twenty-three pages."

Bebe gaped a bit, startled by the number.

"Six hun-?" he squeaked, "T-Tetsuya, zat's a lot of writing…"

I smiled.

"Like I said, it's more of a story than a letter," I told him, "I just… think it's fair that if I'm reading your every past thought, you should read mine. And that way… You can see that you mean everything to me… and that I'd never ever think of hurting you…"

Bebe smiled at me happily and accepted the journal graciously.

"Arigatou, Tetsuya… I'll read every word…" he whispered.

He gave me a kiss and curled up next to me, snuggling as he held the journal close to his chest. We lay together quietly for the rest of the night, happy enough with each other's presence that we didn't need words. I'm glad I'll get to know everything about him eventually, and I'm almost relieved that he'll know the same about me. Anything to give us both reassurance. Bebe eventually fell asleep against my chest. It's good to know he still feels safe with me… I want it to stay that way…

I rested my eyes, replaying the seemingly endless day in my head. I can't… believe that I fell so helplessly when I knew Bebe was in danger. I know it's been awhile since I've had to fight, but I can't use that as an excuse. I have to take this more seriously and push harder… Bebe's still my responsibility whether it's here, at the Academy, in Tartarus, or in the Dream World. I'm glad he can fight now, but… I can't lower my guard even for a moment. Literally… getting hurt will deal as much damage to him as it will to me. Today's lack of vigor will be the last. I'm ready for tomorrow…

* * *

Somewhere in the middle of my dreams, I was interrupted by a blue door. By now, I understood this perfectly, yet it feels like it's been awhile. The night before I found Bebe was the last time I was here… It set me on the right path. I'm sure it'll do it again. But when I went inside, I was caught by surprise when I realized how much more crowded the small plane was. There was barely enough room to begin with…

"Ah, you made it. Good," Igor said with his familiar ambiguous grin, "We've been waiting for you."

The two figures sitting across from him turned to face me curiously, and we all recognized each other instantly.

"Tetsuya!" Aigis chirped, standing up as much as the space would allow.

Souji spared me a tiny, friendly smile, though he didn't appear surprised by my presence. He moved over a little towards Aigis to allow me space to sit beside him, which I did without the privilege of elbow room.

"My sincerest condolences for the cozy quarters," Igor said, though he appeared amused, "This is the first time I have called all of my guests at once. I do find it interesting that you all share the same image of the Velvet Room this time. It seems that you have all synced your psyche."

Synced our psyche…? Interesting… I wonder if this is also not their first visit to the Velvet Room this year…

Igor closed his eyes thoughtfully.

"I do suppose it's for the best, seeing that you and your friends are in for another long journey…" he said, "With a task this difficult, you'll need to have all the support you can get. Rely on your friends and make new ones. As you all know, establishing social bonds is key. Ah, that reminds me…"

The white lights shone before us, and each produced a small blue key that I was familiar with. The Velvet Key… This is definitely an indication of how much we need to rely on our Personas…

"It shouldn't be difficult for the rest of them to summon their power," Igor said, "It just takes a moment to warm up again…"

Souji looked down at the key in his hand and back at Igor.

"Um… Why… am I back at Izanagi…?" he asked, "He underwent a change before… And where are the others…?"

Oh, good. A question I wanted answered as well. Igor chuckled.

"I just told you, dear boy…" he said, "It takes time to readjust. Your powers have slept for a few years, now. Give them time to reawaken. They'll come to you eventually…"

He looked at me curiously.

"Orpheus does seem to have a loyalty to you…" he said, "In all my time, I never imagined I would see a Persona deliberately switch between hosts…"

Aigis looked a bit troubled by the news. I guess the was her way of finding out… Still… he didn't come back the way I remembered him…

"So what the hell is with the angel wings…?" I asked, "Yurlungur has them too…"

Igor retained his otherwise creepy smile, but… for once he seemed different. More serious, more… somber…

"You still have a lot to discover…" he said, "Yours is a soul I'm… curious about… Over time, I'm sure you'll understand. By then, I can explain it more thoroughly to you."

"But you know what's going on now… tell me," I said intensely.

Igor's gaze shifted to the group as a whole.

"Be cautious in your footing," he said, "But don't be afraid to take chances. This journey is particularly tricky, but you've already come so far already. Just remember… don't let fear hold you back."

I sat back against the seat, frustrated. He spared us all his grin once more.

"Until we meet again…"


	12. The Rescue

**Rendezvous**

**Chapter Eleven – The Rescue**

Every student who passed us glanced in our direction with some form of discomfort or curiosity, save for a few who were preoccupied with their mp3 players or other electronic devices. Most of the uncomfortable students were unfriendly towards our suspiciously large group. The majority of our group didn't notice or care. Yukari, Chie, and Yukiko were catching up on some stuff from their shopping yesterday, a topic far out of my language. Teddie was brimming with some absurd form of energy, which he was using to collect as many passing female names as possible. But none of those things are really why I'm so pissed this morning, though adding them on top of heated thoughts certainly doesn't help.

"Dude, I told you he wasn't a morning person," Yosuke murmured when I failed to return Souji's salutation.

He merged with the rest of the group after brushing off my shortness, though his partner hesitated to follow, standing before me quietly. Only three members in our group aside from myself really understood, and I was lucky Souji was one.

"I'm sorry he blew you off like that last night…" he said to me lowly.

Well… I'm not exactly sure what else I expected from Igor. He never really says anything particularly straightforward. I didn't even realize until the end that he had known my fate in the past life all along. He acts like he doesn't know what's up with me now, but I think he has an idea of where this journey is headed and why strange things have been happening to me…

"It's not like it's your fault… I guess it's stupidly asking the teacher for answers to the exam…" I murmured, "Still… I feel my personal condition is something worth telling me. It's like asking me to figure out for myself whether or not I have cancer."

"We'll help you, Tetsuya…" Aigis whispered, "We'll do whatever it takes…"

Bebe had been holding onto my arm with his chin rested on my shoulder since we showed up in front of the school. Though not by experience, he was the third to understand my situation. Even if he hadn't known about the Velvet Room, he would still recognize that I was upset. And even knowing that all of my friends saw the Velvet Room with Aigis, I don't feel like they'd get it. I don't know if Souji's friends know about it, but I'm guessing not since Souji doesn't seem comfortable mentioning it too loudly in front of them.

Yukari was looking up and down the street anxiously, in search of our special back-up Mitsuru had sent.

"This guy's already hindering us…" Yosuke muttered, "He's fifteen minutes late."

"Yeah, but he's carrying a bunch of equipment," Chie said, "He's probably just having trouble with the extra weight. By the way, Yukari-chan, did your senpai ever text you anything about who we're supposed to be looking for?"

"She just said we'd know him when we saw him," Yukari responded, "Considering the load he's carrying, I guess-"

She fell silent, looking out into the crowd approaching the school's entrance. All of us started looking, curious about what caught her eye. It was mostly a bunch of tall French boys rough-playing with each other, which seemed sort of unusual for Yukari to obviously stare down a male in public. I peeked around them, wondering if perhaps our man was behind them, only to find myself surprised as well when I caught a glimpse of a familiar face. We'd know him when we saw him… we'd know him anywhere…

He stopped in front of us, looking specifically at me. A large shoulder bag hung heavily on his shoulder, though he didn't appear troubled by the weight. Strong as ever… A friendly smile curved his lips and strong emotions seemed to struggle behind his cool grey eyes. Aside from a bit of stubble on his chin, he's just like I remember him, and yet this emotion on him is so different…

"Akihiko-senpai…?" I asked him.

He chuckled, readjusting the shoulder bag with faint difficulty.

"Come on, Tetsuya, drop the 'senpai'," he said.

"Heyyy! Akihiko, my man!" Junpei said with a grin, "It's been forever!"

"I agree. It's been way too long. Sorry I didn't keep in touch… Things have been busy."

"Whaaaa-…?" Yosuke whispered to Souji, "They have totally awesome senpai… Why did we have to be the oldest in our group…? The pressure is really heavy now…"

Akihiko turned to face the others.

"You're the group from Inaba, correct?" he asked, "I'm Akihiko Sanada. It's nice to meet you."

"On this side as well…" Souji responded.

After the formal introduction and brief happy reunion greetings, we led our senpai through the entrance and toward the courtyard.

"So what's your story?" Yukari asked him nosily.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… what are you doing in Nanparaux? You told me you were on vacation, and you just happened to be close enough that Mitsuru could text you and tell you to come meet us here."

He seemed surprised.

"She didn't tell you yet…?" he asked, "Oh… well, um… We're dating."

Shock dropped on everyone like a random falling pan. Dating? I had a feeling that he felt a little something for Mitsuru, but she never appeared to harbor the same. I guess a lot can change in four years, but it doesn't make it any less surprising.

"Get out of here! You kiddin' me?" Junpei exclaimed, between a mix of excitement and astonishment.

"I… wasn't aware you were seeing each other," Yukari said lowly.

"It's… been about a year…" Akihiko muttered awkwardly.

Tension set in more heavily than the shock factor, and I was definitely not at ease with the atmosphere. I kept my eyes away from Yukari to avoid having to say anything, which seemed to be what everyone else was doing too. Even the Inaba group, who wasn't familiar with all of us or our backgrounds, knew that a sensitive nerve had been struck. Of course, there was one who was less affected than the rest of us.

"You scored a hot chick," Teddie chirped straightforwardly, and then before anyone could voice their disapproval, "So you know how to beat up Shadows?"

Akihiko was clearly thrown off by Teddie's eccentricity.

"Um… y-yeah. I fought Shadows for a long time before Tetsuya defeated Nyx," he said, "It's been awhile, but I still box in my spare time."

"Well… at least we have somebody who still trains regularly," Yosuke said with a sheepish grin, "We about had our asses handed to us yesterday."

"It helps that we've more than doubled our party as well," I pointed out, "I know you'll be good for us, Akihiko. You always were back then."

He scratched the back of his head bashfully, flattered though unable to accept my comment without a modest rebuttal.

We stepped onto the pink petal carpet of the courtyard, pausing for the few who were witnessing it for the first time to absorb everything before directing their attention on what was most important.

"Now then," I said, "Let's start with a plan. I know what we're going into may seem fascinating, but we can't get sidetracked from the main objective. We're looking for an older man who may or may not be trapped inside the Dream World. And whatever you do, don't let your guard down for a moment."

Akihiko slid the strap of the bag down his shoulder and placed it heavily on the ground beside him, kneeling to unzip it and disperse the contents.

"I brought an array of weapons. I hope you can make use of them," he said, "I took past preferences into account, but I wasn't sure about our newer members or Bebe."

"I'll be okay wiz anyzing as long as eet's not too 'eavy," Bebe said.

"Do you have a bear claw?" Teddie asked from behind me.

"Uh… I have spiked gloves. Will that be okay for now?" Akihiko asked, wearing an expression that was a generous mix of concern and confusion as he faced him. When I looked behind me, I caught the unexpected sight of the large blue bear from the TV yesterday in a red and white suit with a comically exaggerated zipper around the neck.

"DUDE-? WHEN THE HELL DID YOU CHANGE INTO THAT?" Yosuke cried.

"I can't sleep without it," Teddie insisted, his ears perking irritably at Yosuke's shouting, "Besides, I wanna be at my beary best if I'm going to fight the Shadows."

"That didn't exactly answer his question…" Souji muttered, also confused by this magical transformation. We never did get an explanation.

Akihiko passed out weapons to everyone; we were mostly pleased with the exception of Chie and Yukiko, though they remained modest and thanked Akihiko anyway for the gloves and rapier. At least we can go in armed. I sort of wish we had armor too, but Mitsuru and Akihiko already made a huge effort to provide armaments, so asking for much more would be ungrateful. I'm just glad we're not resorting to broken glass and wooden beams.

"So where's this bubble place?" Junpei asked.

"We told you—in a dream," Yosuke said, "At least, that's what we think it is."

"Teddie's got the right idea," I said, "You're going to have to go to sleep in order to get there."

"Just lie down on the ground and go to sleep?" Yukari asked skeptically.

"Yeah."

"And what if we can't?"

"I don't think that will be an issue," Souji said, "Just do the best you can."

Like before, Bebe and I sat on the grass and lay beside each other comfortably. Souji and Yosuke, far less doubtful than yesterday, followed us without hesitation, though keeping an understandable distance from each other and us. The rest of the group followed with expected reluctance, most maintaining a generous space between the others aside from Chie and Yukiko. Teddie boldly plopped down beside Aigis, who could not have been more displeased with his decision.

"See you zere, minna…" Bebe murmured under his breath.

I let my eyelids fall lightly over my eyes as I relaxed my body for the initiation of our journey. Please let this still work today…

* * *

"Whoa! What the hell?"

My eyes flashed open again and the familiar relief swept over me knowing that we could still return to the Dream World with all of the others. I don't know why I ever doubt it. Still… it would look really bad if we couldn't. Also to my relief, we all still held our weapons of choice. It's good to know we can still bring in foreign objects to the Dream World.

As I was relieving my doubts, Junpei was flipping around awkwardly in the zero gravity, doing back flips, cartwheels, and somersaults in place as if stuck spinning on an axis. Teddie was also floating and flipping about randomly, though he was all over the place and didn't appear affected by the spinning. In fact, he acted like he enjoyed it tremendously. Jeez, these morons…

"Junpei, calm down," I said, "You're fine, but you're making yourself look stupid."

He stiffened and held still, flipping over upside-down and looking a bit green in the face.

"Oh, God, I'm dizzy…" he murmured, putting a hand to his head.

The others were far too awestruck by the weightless sensation and phantasmagoric imagery to pay the spinning ones any mind.

"Are… we really here just by sleeping?" Yukari asked unsurely, "We got here really fast…"

"Considering most of us were well-rested, it does seem strange that we would succumb to rest so easily…" Aigis said, "However, the atmosphere of our surroundings was alluring and peaceful, so it isn't completely illogical."

Akihiko looked upwards quickly.

"Listen," he said, "Do you hear that?"

When we all fell quiet, it came to my attention that a faint murmur echoed through the area. A feeble plea for help resonated from the same bubble we'd been in yesterday, the cry relentless though weary. It was the same murmur I'd heard the first time I came here with Bebe… the same plea from the same man…

"Ivon…" Bebe said quietly, "Zat's 'is voice for sure…"

"Whoa, so you guys were really serious about this…" Chie muttered, apparently quietly skeptical about everything before.

"'Course we were," Yosuke shot immaturely.

"So… everything you said about the bubbles… there being another world and… Shadows?" Chie asked.

"Nope!" Teddie announced jovially as he circled us in a spastic retrograde motion, "My nose knows no Shadows here! Hahaha!"

"Will you stop?" Yosuke barked, "You look like an idiot…"

A sinking feeling inside my chest began to grow heavier as I realized what he was saying. There are no Shadows here… But there were yesterday… So… what did that mean?

"No… zat's impossible. Zere were definitely Shadows 'ere before…" Bebe said.

"Well, maybe you guys just beat 'em, but I don't smell any!" Teddie laughed, patting Yosuke's head teasingly as he passed.

"This isn't a game, Teddie. Sit still," Souji said sternly.

But before Teddie could brake, the gravity of his orbit broke off and he began to stray from our group awkwardly. Just as the others began to notice, he was already in the field of bubbles, colliding into the one from which the voice emitted and disappearing inside with a brief squeak.

"Holy crap!" Junpei cried, "W-What just happened?"

"What happened to Teddie?" Yukiko asked nervously.

"Jeez, that stupid bear is asking for an ass-whooping…" Yosuke grumbled.

Bebe sighed and went to the bubble calmly.

"We should go make sure 'e's not 'urt," he said.

I went to him automatically and the others followed closely behind me.

"So this is where we're searching?" Akihiko asked, "You said we're on the lookout for someone trapped inside?"

"Hai…" Bebe said quietly, "…I… I 'ave to find a way to save 'im. 'E doesn't deserve to die like zis…"

"We won't let him," I promised, "Come on. We shouldn't waste time."

Though I was hesitant before, the constant reassurance that this world was the same as yesterday was now enough to fuel my confidence to slip into the bubble as naturally as breathing. The heavier gravity of the world inside was instantly apparent as I dropped back to flat terrain, luckily landing on my feet with only a slight stumble. One by one, the others slipped through what appeared to be a liquid hole in the sky, mostly landing shakily on their feet except for Yosuke and Junpei, who both tripped and fell. Junpei I can understand, but Yosuke? Come on. You were here yesterday, idiot. Do you really lack that much coordination?

"Nyeeehh… O-Oh, hey! Can somebody please help me up…?"

Teddie rolled to us and rocked on the floor, attempting to sit himself up in vain like a roach stuck on its back. With a sigh, Souji went to him and pushed him up to stand. The others, again, were preoccupied with the surrounding area.

"Jeez, this place is a mess!" Chie cried, "What happened to it?"

"My Shadow said zat eet was rioters…" Bebe said quietly, "But 'e never said what ze cause of ze riot was…"

Teddie was walking around the group with his nose in the air, inhaling short breaths like a sniffing dog. He occasionally sniffed one of us before moving on to the next.

"Things must've really gotten out of hand…" Yukiko said quietly.

"No kidding…" Yukari agreed, "Nobody even stuck around after. Who knows what happened to these people?"

"It looks kinda like this must have been new. There are still fires…" Junpei observed.

"I wonder what started it…"

"Oh my God, Teddie, WHAT are you doing?" Yosuke asked irritably as Teddie shoved his face against his chest.

"Hmm… you don't smell like yourself, Yosuke," Teddie said with confusion, continuing to bury his face against him, "That's so weird! You smell pretty, like-"

"Will you stop?" Yosuke barked, shoving him away again with reddening cheeks, "It's called cologne! Pervy bear… What are you doing sniffing around like that?"

Teddie sniffed the air again.

"Well… I kinda smelled something a little suspicious," he said, "It smells kinda like a Shadow."

"So you sniffed Yosuke-kun?" Yukiko asked, chortling.

"Your logic astounds me…" Yosuke muttered.

Why are they blowing this off? This is serious!

"Wait, now you're saying that there are definitely Shadows still around?" I asked.

"Smells like it," Teddie said confidently, "Looks like our Senseis were right. I couldn't pick up a single whiff back in the bubble room, but it stinks of Shadows in here."

"That it does," Aigis said flatly, glaring at Teddie intensely.

I held my sword up a little.

"Well… with that confirmed, we need to be extra cautious," I said to the others, "Don't let the Shadows catch you off-guard."

"No shit," Yosuke murmured, but feigned innocence when I glared in his direction.

"_What is this world coming to…?"_

A bodiless voice echoed from the sky, resonating into the ruins and filling the air with a cold chill. Every one of us looked around for the one speaking, only to find no one.

"_Things aren't how they u__sed to be. Back then, everything was so simple… Priorities have changed with the times, I suppose… Since when was an electronic more important than the voice and face of another human being…? Will we all one day be replaced?"_

We waited in silence for a few moments longer, hoping for the voice to continue. To our dismay, the sky responded with the most empty of silences to fill us with the same.

"Ivon…" Bebe whispered.

We all looked at him.

"Is that the guy we're looking for?" Yosuke asked.

When Bebe responded with a feeble nod, I had a feeling I knew what was going on. Having fought Bebe's Shadow yesterday, I can only assume that the encounter wasn't coincidence. The Shadows are exploiting thoughts… By what Souji and Yosuke had to say about their previous encounters, it seems like they might have a better hold on these Shadows than I thought. If the Shadows are really spawning from a shameful side of someone, then it's entirely possible that Ivon may also have a Shadow of his own. If that's the case, we were right to bring as many people in as we did. There's something big here… and we're going to have to be at the top of our game…

I turned to Teddie, the most helpful analyst that I'd ever really had, knowing that I had to rely on his senses as a Shadow. If anyone can figure out where these things are and what they're doing, it's him.

"Do you think you could lead us to the Shadows?" I asked.

He saluted me for some reason and began sniffing around the air for a stronger essence of the Shadows that could lead us to their location. Though he zigzagged around slowly, we followed closely behind him in a straight line. For once, Teddie was completely quiet aside from the squeaking noises he made naturally when he walked. I looked to check up on Bebe, realizing that he was keeping an extra close watch on the ruined city as we walked along. His gaze was intense and he was deep in thought… always so unreadable…

The others were also noticing his focus, taking time to eye the surroundings for potential danger.

"You know… it sounds strange, but something feels weird about this city…" Chie spoke up finally.

"I'm glad you said it," Akihiko said, "I was thinking the same thing…"

"What kind of weird?" I asked.

"Well… I don't really know how to put it…" Chie said.

"Eet's familiar…" Bebe said quietly.

"How can it be familiar?" Junpei asked, "Everything's so badly wrecked, you can't even tell where we are."

But as soon as Bebe pointed it out, I couldn't turn a blind eye to it. Though many of the structures were damaged beyond recognition, the feeling of déjà vu was impossible to ignore. It doesn't appear to be anywhere in Japan, so I have to rule that out… But this is the first time I've been outside the country. So…?

"Hey! Check this out!"

Teddie had stopped suddenly, peeking into the shattered windows of a particularly large building. Several shelves inside appeared to have been tipped as result of a domino effect from one in the middle. Much like the others, this one had been ransacked, though there were few remnants of the rioters' pillage. An interesting array of obsolete electronics, ugly clothes, unfavorable snacks, and other red-tag clearance items were strewn about the floors, mixed in with broken glass and wood splinters. Few signs were left alone inside the building, hanging from the ceiling at a convenient height so anyone could read it. The writing appeared to direct customers to different areas in the store, all labeled as a particular type of good: food, pharmacy, clothing, electronics…

…wait… is this… Nanparaux's department store…?

_"I don't want to live in a world where humans aren't the superior race. Once we pass over responsibility to technology, the consequences will be our end… I can'__t sit here and watch our coming generation destroy everything we worked for… I won't live in a country of anarchy."_

The voice faded away again to leave us in stunned silence, only able to look at each other with uncertainty. If this is Ivon's Shadow, what are we supposed to expect once we find him? Teddie leaned closer to the frame of the window, sniffing it cautiously before recoiling in shock.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, "The Shadow smell is coming from in here! And it's really strong!"

"So this is where the guy's Shadow is…" Chie said quietly.

"Eet makes sense…" Bebe said, "Ivon runs ze pharmacy 'ere at night… 'E probably spends a lot of time 'ere alone wiz 'is zoughts. If zat's true, zen I zink I know where 'e eez."

He started to move ahead, but Teddie stopped him.

"Wait a sec…" he said, "There's more… I smell Shadows, but there's something else too…"

"Something else?" Junpei asked.

"I can't really put my paw on it…" Teddie murmured, taking in small breaths through his nose to test the scent discerningly, "It smells _like_ a Shadow… I have no idea what it is, but I don't trust it. We have to be extra careful if we go after it. There's no telling how tough it'll be…"

"Even so…" Bebe said, "Ivon eez my responsibility. I already failed to act once… I'll stop at nozing to make sure 'e's okay. I agree we 'ave to be careful, but no matter what awaits us, we cannot turn back."

"_If the world is going to fall to shambles anyway… why let it rot? No one wants to feel pain… it would be best if it all ended now."_

Horror poured through every face around me, and I felt it run through mine as well. This is… exactly the kind of thing S.E.E.S. dealt with before… Is Ivon really one of them? One of those who wishes for the Fall to "save" humanity from its own direction? Crap, this isn't good… I'm not back in the Abyss of Time anymore… who's keeping Nyx away…? Surely, she can hear these thoughts… What if it awakens her?

Bebe faced away from the group again.

"We 'ave to 'urry," he said, "Before zis gets out of 'and."

Before any one of us could respond, Bebe was already darting inside the building on his own. My immediate reaction was to chase after him to assure he didn't put himself into any compromising positions with the Shadows Teddie was sensing. He did well in battle yesterday, but the instinct to protect him is impossible to tune out. Especially with danger radiating from every pile of rubble…

A burst of debris caught me by surprise and I swung my sword as a reflex, catching the face of a Musha with the blade. Startled by my response, the Musha delayed in its counter, so I took the opportunity to attack a second and third time, knocking it back to the floor where other forms of Shadows began to materialize.

"Shadoooows!" Teddie cried.

A line of Shadows cut the group away from the rest of the building, all approaching for an ambush attack. Bebe stood his ground and readied his sword in one hand while holding a tarot card in the other. His eyes scanned the line of Shadows, looking for an exit.

"Which way do you think Ivon is?" I asked him.

"'E's upstairs, to ze back of ze second floor," he said, pointing his sword in the stairs' direction, "Zat's where ze pharmacy eez… eet's ze only zing zat makes sense…"

The Shadows continued to close in on us slowly, leaving me little time to form a solution though I hardly needed much time at all. At once, I was already reveling in the benefits of joint leadership. I turned my head to Souji quickly.

"Hey, do you think you and your group can handle the Shadows here while mine goes on ahead?" I asked him.

"Yeah, we should be fine," he said without a second thought, then turning to his group, "Guys, you stay with me. Tetsuya and the others will take care of the host."

"Aye, aye, Sensei!" Teddie chirped agreeably, and the others seemed to be on board with the plan as well.

I turned to Bebe once again with my card in hand.

"Alright," I said, "Let's move forward."

In unison, the two of us crushed our cards, summoning both Orpheus and Napoleon to aid us in crating an escape. Together, the two winged Personae charged toward the targets at full-speed and collided into the Shadows sharply. At the impact, a burst of feathers caught my attention and my heart dropped like lead as I realized that Orpheus' wings were no longer present. It was as if they had completely molted away. Was he hit? I didn't feel any sort of impact, so…?

"Come on, Tetsuya! Ikimasshou!" Bebe said frantically, already taking a few steps ahead.

…Orpheus…? What's the matter with you…? … …I… I don't have time to be concerned with this right now. Bebe's counting on me and I can't afford to fall short of expectations… not like yesterday… With everything going on, being anything but focused is not an option. I have to be strong. For him.

I charged on ahead with Bebe, comforted by the sound of Yukari's, Junpei's, Aigis', and Akihiko's footsteps trailing behind ours. This feeling is so familiar… Yes. Leadership. This is what it feels like, I remember now! This is no different than leading S.E.E.S. to the top of Tartarus. I just have to keep this feeling going strong, and we can pull through. There's nothing we can't handle… At the bottom of the staircase, three Shadows in the form of hour glasses blocked our path. From behind me, an arrow whizzed by and struck the one in the middle, dealing enough damage to knock it down but not enough to take it out.

"Physical attacks should work fine!" Yukari yelled to me.

"Perfect! I've been waiting for this!" Akihiko exclaimed with an eager smile.

He thrust himself ahead and took out the Shadow on the right with his fists while Aigis let loose fire on the two remaining Shadows. With all three no longer obstructing our path, we were all able to climb the stairs to the next floor. According to Bebe, this is where Ivon should be. Hopefully, that's the case… I hope we're not too late…

As soon as the staircase ended, we reached a very spacious floor cluttered by some debris and various colored pills. At the back of the floor was a large, strange-looking machine. Part of it appeared like the upper half of a human, though not as human as Aigis, and the rest of it appeared to be a large, rusted chamber with a conveyor belt. Upon the conveyor belt was an elderly man, strapped down by his limbs, which seemed unnecessarily tight for such a weak man.

"Ivon!" Bebe cried out, dashing towards the machine, likely to free the man from his restraints.

The old man was out cold, not even flinching at the mention of his name. All this time, we've been hearing his voice, but he's not even conscious. When we came to this world yesterday, Bebe wasn't the one expressing the thoughts from inside… It was his Shadow… So then…? Shit!

"Bebe, no!" I yelled out.

I sent Orpheus out to block his path, though immediately regretting the decision as the machine quickly launched small, but powerful missiles at my Persona. The pain spread across my body in a rapid, stinging sensation at the same time Bebe let out a scream. Dammit…! Why can't I just take the hit…? Why does it hurt him too…? Shit…!

"Tetsuya! Bebe! Are you guys okay?" Yukari asked frantically.

"Ahh… Bebe, I'm sorry, I'm still not used to this…" I croaked, gradually loosening my grip from my arms as the burning faded.

"I'm okay…" Bebe assured me.

He looked back up at the machine, whose eyes on the humanoid head were now open and glowing as the looked around. The left eye flickered a bit, threatening to die out, and the right was slightly dimmer. The body of the machine, much like the chamber, was splotched with red rust. As it began to move, the body let out a horrible screech and I had no choice but to cup my hands over my ears as the others around me cowered at the shrill sound as well.

"I am surprised you heard that."

The voice was monotone and disconnected, even more than Aigis' was before she had been repaired. Oh, shit. I'd had a feeling, but why did it have to be true…? The machine turned its head with another shriek, looking back and forth at each of us slowly, all the while shrieking.

"So young," it said, "You are not the ones who destroy yourselves… It is a comfort."

"What a weird thing for a robot to say…" Junpei muttered, then looking at Aigis quickly, "No offense."

Aigis paid him no mind and stepped forward, curious.

"You're like me…?" she asked, "Are you a machine that can feel?"

"I feel. I feel emotion. I feel pain," it said slowly, "It is unpleasant, existing in pain. This world is rusting simultaneously with my core. My existence is riddled with misery. Surrounded by other machines who do not feel."

"Other machines…?" Yukari asked.

The head turned towards her and nodded, the noise tracing my spine with a cold touch.

"Dammit, STOP TURNING YOUR HEAD!" I snarled through my teeth.

It looked me dead-on again and zeroed in on me.

"Obsolete device," it said, "Accessing data…"

…the hell is it talking about? Its eyes narrowed and a thin red beam pointed in my direction, spreading out in a horizontal line and scanning me from head to toe thrice before stopping at my chest.

"Obsolete device," it repeated, "Confirmed. Must be eliminated. Deploying defense mechanisms."

Wait, wait, what the hell? Why is it suddenly attacking? The machine began to whirr obnoxiously loud and the conveyor belt on the chamber began to slowly drag Ivon inside. Bebe frantically made a movement to go after him, but I held him back in attempt to keep him out of harm's way. From the other end of the moving belt, a line of small capsules began to emerge to the other side of the chamber. They resembled grenades, though lacking a pin and printed with small flames. Behind the conveyor belt spawned three incredibly stereotypical, boxy robots, who lined up in front of the capsules so that they each had two. Clearly, this wasn't a welcome for whatever this thing was talking about.

I gave the order to spread out and attack, though I kept Bebe close to my side. As long as I can keep both of us out of danger, I should be able to keep Bebe safe… And with the others distracting the machine, I should be able to keep its focus off of us. From a distance, I saw Junpei run towards the front of the machine with his sword drawn back. The robots in front swept a fair number of the capsules from the belt, exploding on impact. My heart sunk in my chest as the fire swallowed him up, though I was immediately reminded of his invulnerability to the element when Trismegistus emerged from the flames to connect the attack.

…Trismegistus…?

But… if I'm back at Orpheus, Souji is back at his initial Persona, and I assume Napoleon and Jiraiya are Bebe's and Yosuke's initial Personae respectively…?

A loud bang brought my attention back to the moment as Trismegistus successfully managed a powerful physical hit. The machine screeched in protest at the damage, but did not yield. The conveyor belt whirred once more and a fresh line of bombs were surfaced. If we can destroy those robots before they start tossing bombs, the machine itself might prove extremely vulnerable… It's worth a try.

"Yukari, Aigis! Take out the one on the right!" I yelled, "Junpei, you and Akihiko take the one in the middle, and Bebe and I will take care of the left!"

"All right, fine!" Junpei called back, giving me a thumbs up.

Without a word, Yukari and Aigis were already opening fire on their target, avoiding the projectiles from the other two robots. They seem to be conserving their Personas' energy… That will probably work to our advantage if one of us is injured. Junpei and Akihiko took the opposite strategy and began crushing tarot cards, unleashing the elemental powers of Trismegistus and defense-lowering support from Caesar.

…Caesar? Dammit, what's going on…?

"Tetsuya, I see an opening!"

Bebe was already summoning Napoleon to go in for the attack, and I knew it was in both of our best interests if I went along with him to assure that no further damage would be inflicted. Quickly, I summoned Orpheus so that I wouldn't have to follow behind Bebe and Napoleon, and moved on ahead as I strategized the rest of the approach. It's doubtful since this thing is so powerful, but it might pay off later if I attempt to expose an elemental weakness… I guess we just have to try everything… From the corner of my eye, I noticed that Junpei was able to connect an Agi attack with his assigned enemy, knocking it back. A weakness to fire—the perfect advantage for both Bebe's and my Persona.

I sent Orpheus on ahead to strike my target with Agi, engulfing it in flames that it couldn't possibly dodge. While I had hoped for a critical hit, my stomach sank when the machine emerged unscathed. Worse, it appeared healthier than it had prior to the hit. Just great, one with a fire weakness and one that drains it. Was NOT expecting that kind of difficulty this early into the fight. Napoleon went flying into the fray, body slamming the Shadow sharply and muffling the shriek of protest it started to emit upon impact. So physical attacks are still okay if all other hope is lost… but I can't imagine this thing doesn't have a weakness of some sort.

Setting Orpheus aside, I changed out for Yurlungur and went in with Bufudyne, only to find myself frustrated when that, too, was absorbed without the slightest scratch. Augh, again, going into battle without an analyst. Dammit, where's Mitsuru when you need her? Yurlungur flipped sharply to avoid an exploding grenade thrown by the now agitated servant, coiling behind me to await further command. Getting a closer look at him, I realize that he is also lacking the wings from yesterday… was it… just my imagination…?

Bebe bolted to the machine wielding only his sword, going in for a close-range physical attack to knock a grenade from the robot's grasp before it could strike. He's trying to protect me, but… a close-range attack is incredibly reckless with this enemy. To my relief, Bebe was able to land the blade against the machine's surface without receiving any damage himself. He's a lot better at fighting than I would have expected… I guess watching the rest of S.E.E.S fight for so long allowed him time to fashion his own battle strategies and fighting style…

A burst of metal beside our target distracted me as I realized that Junpei and Akihiko had managed to take out their target with no elemental help from Caesar at all. The middle was weak against fire… …this is like the twelfth Full Moon Shadow. If the three robots each have their own elemental weakness—likely Agi, Zio, and Bufu—then we can exploit those and focus on the host itself. If my target is immune to Agi and Bufu… that leaves Zio. …but neither of my Personae have Zio skills. Shit! Okay, new strategy plan. I called out for Akihiko's assistance, hating the feeling of relying too heavily on others for help, but Akihiko proceeded without even a grimace. Sensing the danger they were in, the two remaining servants began to pick up their throwing pace, the conveyor belt moving in a steady, nonstop motion as the grenades were infinitely looped. Explosives were scattered haphazardly, leaving the six of us with no other option but to abandon our positions and run. At this point, I don't even know if staying close to Bebe will even help either of us, but I can't ignore the instinct to stay. Around debris and flames, I spotted a dramatically slower rate from Aigis and Yukari's target. Dealing straight physical damage to their target may have been more effective than wasting time with elemental skills… If I have this down right, theirs yields to ice. Might as well make use of Yurlungur while I have him equipped.

An abrupt dash left Bebe behind me and I was in a closer range for a hit against the weakened servant. With a crush of card, Yurlungur burst from my soul once more and dealt a blast of ice to the target, which exploded on impact. Perfect, one more to go. The servant left alone was completely aware of its situation, but no matter now rapidly it threw grenades, it wouldn't be fast enough to stop us. Instead, it was time for a change of tactic. Changing its focus from the group as whole, it fixed its attention on the closest target. Of course it would. I practically had to throw myself to the side in order to evade the attack, all the while realizing that I wasn't just fighting to protect myself at this point. Dammit, now I'm endangering him. There's absolutely no way of winning here…

"Akihiko!" I cried desperately, "Knock it down!"

"I'm trying to get a more accurate aim!" Akihiko responded with agitation, "Just hang in there!"

He began to run toward the machine to aide me as quickly as possible, but a stray explosive intervened and thrust him down sharply.

"Akihiko!" Junpei cried out.

The hit didn't seem to be anything too tough for my senpai, however he did appear to struggle rising to his feet. Yukari immediately ran back to his side to physically fend off any incoming attacks in order to allow Akihiko time to replenish his health. My eyes fell back to the enemy to determine its next move, and a feeling of heaviness spread through my chest when I realized it had already locked onto its next target. He's too far away… and he's got his back to it! He has no idea! Before I had time to blink, the grenade was already airborne and headed directly in Bebe's direction.

No! I can't—I won't—fall this far behind!

A surge of adrenaline shocked my body as I instinctively and aggressively shattered my card. A humanoid giant emerged from the light and drove his mighty hammer into the floor, tearing up a good bit of the remaining tile and resurfacing debris as a storm of lighting struck the floor. One of the bolts managed to land a hit on the robot while the other took out the grenade, freeing Bebe from his danger and me of my anxiety. The giant turned back to face me again, nodding a silent but friendly greeting upon his return. His timing couldn't have been better… Nice to see you again, too… Thor.

Crap, Tetsuya, stay focused. I hadn't even realized that the single hit was enough to demolish the last servant, leaving the machine's chamber totally exposed and defenseless. If this really like the Full-Moon Shadow, I'd like to inflict as much damage as possible before it deploys more grenade-throwing robots.

"Go! Quickly!" I shouted to the rest of the group.

Akihiko and Junpei went on ahead of the rest of us, putting forth all of the physical strength they could afford to exert. Aigis went full-throttle on the enemy with Orgia Mode as Yukari, Bebe, and I followed with our respective weapons. I persisted through the rusty shrieks of the machine, determined to finish it off as quickly as possible. A thin red line ran past my chest once more, and the machine began talking to itself.

"Obsolete device," it said again, "Defense down. Processing analytic data… *whir*… *whir*… Elemental weakness confirmed. Activating back-up defense. Zio. Bufu. Garu."

A compartment in the mouth of the machine's head opened and shot six quick bursts: two shots of electricity at Aigis and Yukari; two of ice at Akihiko and Bebe; and two of wind at Junpei and myself. I felt the sting of ice before I felt the wind, though it was the latter hit that sent me hurtling through the air with the others and into the back wall, landing hard on Aigis' metallic elbow as we flopped into a jumbled pile. Bebe let out a cry abruptly and moaned in pain. Crap, that's two exploitations of our weaknesses and then a blow to the chest to top it off… So… does that mean that our Personae share weaknesses as well…?

"Obsolete devices must be eliminated," the machine said, "Society can only operate on modern technology."

Obsolete device… Strange… Aigis is a machine who's been around for about fifteen years, yet the machine says nothing about her… It only says it when it scans me… It thinks I'm an obsolete device…? Or maybe… … …it's my mp3 player… I guess I didn't consider it very old, but I guess it's a little outdated after four years. But why would Ivon concern himself with that if he works in the pharmacy?

The world is falling to shambles…

Passing over responsibility to technology…

Electronics more important than the voice of a human being…

...

Ivon… is... worried about being replaced?

"Society… builds on old technology," I said, rising to my feet, "Old technology is not useless. It's what improves new technology to better the lives of mankind. The only ones who can think to do that are humans themselves. The world doesn't have to go to Hell in a hand basket as long as we keep that in mind…"

The machine let out a spine rattling shriek as it fired a missile similar to the first. Before I had time to deflect it, Napoleon slid in front of me and destroyed it with Agi. Bebe also clambered to his feet and took and stand beside me.

"Ivon, I know you can 'ear us! Please… you don't 'ave to be afraid of being replaced. No one can replace you," he said.

The others were up again and standing defensively beside us, prepared for anything. That was probably a smart move, since Bebe's and my words seemed to bounce right off the metal. The machine opened its mouth again.

"Replicating former assault," it said, completely void of feeling.

At this point, we're better off bracing ourselves for the hit and replenishing whatever we lose… I switched out for Yurlungur in hopes of receiving minimal damage from the Garu skill I was certain to receive and placed my forearm in front of Bebe and myself instinctively.

An abrupt gust pressed against my face and tossed my hair gently.

"What, are you just gonna take it?"

I uncovered my face to discover the rest of the group had finally managed to rejoin us. Yosuke was frowning at me disbelievingly, irritated by our submission, as Jiraiya hovered above with Izanagi and three other Personae, each atop their respective users. Above Chie was a black warrior with a long, double-bladed weapon. Yukiko's Persona was glowing a brilliant golden, large feather-like fans extending from its arms. Teddie's was certainly something I could have expected, greatly resembling a bear with a missile up its ass. Makes perfect sense. I can only wonder how it is that Jiraiya doesn't have something up his ass as well…

"It's about time you guys made it!" Junpei exclaimed.

"Just glad we're not too late," Souji said breathlessly as his group finally reached us, "Are you guys okay?"

The machine let out another cry at its aggressive interruption, though it appeared weary at this point.

"Incoming enemies," it said, "Processing analytic data…"

"Crap, it's trying to exploit weaknesses again," I snarled.

"Why not hit it with a Zio skill?" Teddie asked.

We all looked at him abruptly.

"Its weakness is electricity. I can sense it."

"You can analyze enemies?" I cried.

"Duhhh," Teddie responded flatly, "Not as well as I used to, but this bear's still ticking."

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?"

Damn analysts! All of them!

"I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Not the time, NOT the time!" Souji barked at us, "It's got a weakness, and you've almost got it finished off! Tetsuya, do you have a Zio-oriented Persona?"

"I've got Thor," I replied.

"And mine's Zio-oriented as well," Akihiko spoke up.

"Okay, then we need to be at the front! Let's go!"

As Souji gave the order, he crushed the card in his hand, catching Izanagi in a ball of light. When it burst, a gargantuan golden dragon with glowing red eyes emerged. A second Persona for Souji, huh… I guess he really is a Wild Card like me…

He took off immediately towards the machine, and I had to push my pace in order to match his. Akihiko eventually caught up and the others followed our lead, ready with their respective weapons. In a desperate attempt to deter our attack, the machine let loose a multitude of projectile explosives. For the ones that would be more difficult to dodge, I deflected them with my sword and pushed ahead as I switched my Persona back to Thor. The moment we were close enough, I looked to Souji and Akihiko for the okay before simultaneously casting Ziodyne at the same target. Like a charm, the triple-attack was enough to deplete the remainder of the machine's energy. The machine let out one final series of shrieks before evaporating into a cloud of black, leaving behind a limp figure on the floor where the chamber had been.

For the first time, the air was silent and still.

"That it…?" Chie asked hopefully.

A faint groan came from the body on the floor as he stirred, attempting to push himself up. Bebe was the first to approach him, kneeling beside him with his hand out to grasp the man's shoulder and help him up.

"Ivon…? Are you okay?" he asked.

As I came closer, I noticed the older man's eyes were unfocused, as if awakening from sleep. He looked around the room, patting by his eyes in search of something. Finally, his focus centered on the group and on Bebe, filling his eyes with gentleness.

"Oh…" he said quietly, "Andre…? What are you doing in this nightmare…?"

"We came to save you," Bebe said with a friendly grin.

Ivon appeared confused, looking at the rest of us in attempt to understand.

"We saved you from yourself…" Souji said, "A part that's been eating away at you for awhile now… hasn't it…?"

Shakily, Ivon nodded.

"Every day…" he said, "Young people come into my department… head-buds in their ears or phones in their hands… Even children are keeping up with technology these days…"

"Head-buds?" Yosuke asked, clearly brave enough to voice the word that we were all silently stuck on.

"Being unable to get a word from even my customers… I don't have much of anyone to speak to… I watch more and more people complain about the disadvantages of their devices… and hearing others dream of a world where technology rules… it can't be a natural way of living… I guess… I was scared of not being needed by anyone… God knows my ex-wife doesn't…"

Bebe tilted his head and looked into Ivon's water-logged eyes.

"Of course you're needed…" he said with a smile, "There are lots of people out there like you… who need a human heart and soul to connect with. I… I'm sorry you've gone for so long feeling that way. But… as a neighbor and a friend… I'll make sure you never feel that way again…"

Ivon was stunned. I smiled at Bebe's warmth, recognizing the feeling of having him reach out. Even in the worst possible circumstances, he looked me in the eyes and promised me that I would never be alone… That's possibly one of the most steadfast promises kept in our relationship to this day… With a shudder, Ivon wrapped his arms around Bebe's shoulder as he began to sob his gratitude to him and to all of us.

The longer I watched the two of them, the more I began to realize something was off. I could spot limpid tears through the material of Ivon's shirt, and more easily as time went on… Eventually, I was certain that I could see the rest of Bebe through him.

"I-Ivon…?" I asked.

But as he turned his head to face the rest of us, he faded away into the air. Bebe was at his feet immediately.

"What 'appened…?" he asked.

"Dude, he just disappeared," Junpei said in awe, "What does that mean…?"

The walls began slowly flaking away, leaving behind a black abyss. As the floor did the same, gravity began to die away with it, leaving us floating into nothing. Surrounding us were green lined bubbles and a few red ones… huh?

"We're back where we started…?" Yukiko asked.

"Does… that mean it's over…?" Chie asked, "Did we save him…?"

The entire group looked around in hopes of finding something—anything—that could prove to us that we had succeeded. But the room was exactly how we'd left it, save for the one bubble. With my eyes, I exchanged a silent conversation with Teddie and then Souji, nodding once before letting him address the group.

"I think… we can only assume the best and go back," he said.

Smiles broke out slowly, unsure if the celebration was premature, but feeling a form of relief from the thought of finding a way to end the suffering. I felt my own lips turn as I looked at Bebe, able to feel his pride beaming from his blushing cheeks.

"Yaaay, we beat the Shadows!" Teddie cheered, spinning around in the zero gravity again.

He started to head for another bubble when Yosuke grabbed him and held him up straight.

"Didn't you learn your lesson the first time, you stupid bear?" he teased with a playful smile.

The rest of us laughed, finally beginning to really feel like we might have discovered something helpful. It wasn't exactly what we came here for but… all of us have the chance to save people again… to change the injustice of fate… I think for all of us, that's a pretty good feeling. Seeing everyone happy now… makes all the sacrifices in my past life really feel worth it.

As my eyes scanned past everyone in the group, I realized there was one who was not sharing the same joy as the rest of us. In fact, he hardly seemed in the group at all as he looked off into the distance, disturbed.

"Souji…? What is it…?" I asked.

"Everyone, quiet!" he snapped, though he didn't sound angry. There was a hint of anxiety in his voice, with traces of excitement.

As they were told, everyone's laughter subsided quickly, understanding how serious he was. The group was filled with silence, listening intently for something we were deaf to before. I don't hear anything, though… The air is as empty as the world around it…

"Souji?" I asked.

"_Big Bro…?"_

…what the hell…?

The faint voice came from no particular direction, but I could just barely hear it echoing in the depth of my ears… I wasn't sure exactly who it came from, but it sounded like a small girl…

"Nanako…" Souji croaked.

"Nanako?" Chie gasped.

"Nana-chan, are you here?" Teddie cried.

The voice didn't respond immediately, and we all began cupping our hands behind our ears in attempt to amplify the sound.

"_I'm okay, Big Bro… but… please come save me… I'm scared…"_

Souji was turning around spastically, trying to figure out which direction to head off too.

"NANAKO! WHERE ARE YOU?" he called, but only his distant echo responded.

"_Daddy… Big Bro…"_

"NANAKO, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

The air was silent again, and it grew heavier with each passing minute.

"NANAKO!" Souji screamed.

When his echo responded, he began to float quickly towards the back of the bubble field in a vain search for the little girl.

"Hey, hey," Akihiko said loudly, grabbing Souji before he could go any further, "We've already exerted a lot of our energy today. Pushing yourself harder than you can handle is stupid and reckless."

"I don't care!" Souji snarled, "She's here somewhere! I KNOW she is! I can't let the Shadows reach her!"

Yosuke approached the two, though he kept his distance out of respect.

"Souji… if you die, you can't save her," he said, "She already lost her mother. Don't make her lose you too…"

Souji was still, weighing Yosuke's words with his impulse. He finally relaxed and pulled away from Akihiko gently, coming back to the rest of us in silence. He kept his eyes below, but I could tell he was struggling. Somebody needs to say something…

"We know we're on the right track now…" I said, "Your instincts were right. At least this way… we can be searching for her in the right place. Now that we know, there's no way we won't find her. She said it herself… she's okay…"

He nodded.

"I know you're right… but… The thought of leaving her here…"

"Right now, the best thing you can do is rest up and be ready to keep searching. There are a lot of places to look and a lot of people to save, but it's not impossible to find her in the process. You've got all of us looking…"

When he didn't reply, Yosuke came back to us.

"Come on… we've gotta go back…" he said quietly.

Though he hesitated, Souji eventually faded away with some of the others as they departed. I exchanged one final glance with Bebe before allowing myself to wake…

* * *

"It's a miracle!"

"An act of God!"

"The answer to our prayers!"

The hospital was buzzing with these sorts of phrases as we entered, alarmed by the mob of people overflowing into the lobby. Doctors were frantically trying to persuade the crowd to move out of the hallway and discouraging the noise and flash photography from the news reporters. We approached the back of the crowd, trying to peek over blonde and brunette heads.

"Hey, what's goin' on?" Junpei asked.

I translated his question to a man standing in front of me, and he appeared astonished.

"You haven't heard? Someone's woken up!" he exclaimed, "One of the coma victims survived!"

Bebe beamed, relieved by the words. So it's true… by entering the Dream World, we really can save people…

After about fifteen minutes of us being shoved by antsy reporters, Mitsuru made an appearance and cleared the hallways and lobby with little to no difficulty, thanks to her cold aura and leadership abilities. Once things had quieted down, she allowed us to go back and visit Ivon. When we entered the room, he recognized Bebe immediately, smiling at him and greeting him like an old friend. It took a bit longer, but he eventually recognized the rest of us as the young men and women from his dream (however, he didn't seem to recognize Teddie without his bear suit.) He looked to me specifically at the end.

"I remember you very clearly…" he said, "I remember hearing your voice… encouraging me and assuring me that the world isn't as bad as it seems…"

As a token of his gratitude, he offered us generous discounts at the pharmacy, where he had a vast supply of items that may aid us in our later efforts in the Dream World. It's going to be a long stay here… but if it means saving everyone again… I think it'll be well-worth it.


	13. Settling

**Rendezvous**

**Chapter Twelve – Settling**

About three days have passed since the last time we entered the Dream World and saved Ivon. This is the first quiet morning we've had since then, as reporters have been swarming the neighboring apartment in hopes of nabbing an interview with Ivon when he returned from work. I was surprised the hospital discharged him so quickly, but he was evidently fine enough to walk on his own without difficulty. He's been friendly enough to make conversation with Bebe and me any time he sees us on his way out or back, regardless of his rush. I suppose he wants to make time for us since we did for him. I understand why Bebe was so fond of him; he's a very kind neighbor.

I've only met up with Yukari, Junpei, and Aigis for the past few days, since we see each other at Rěvefutur Academy to pass time whenever Bebe is in class. Mostly, we discuss the case and try to come up with reasonable solutions to how Souji's cousin ended up there. In fact… I've actually been worried about Souji since we left her alone. Nobody has heard anything about him since then, and I knew he was in a pretty miserable mood having come so close to finding her, and then abandoning her. I know exactly how it feels to come close and fail… It bothers me that I haven't heard from Souji at all, or from Yosuke either. Supposedly, Yukari and Aigis spend time with Chie and Yukiko when they aren't with Bebe, Junpei, and me. I even occasionally hear from Marie that she's been meeting up with Teddie between classes. But maybe it's my own fault for not seeing any of them. After all, I've been spending a lot of time with Bebe whenever I can. It never gets lonely while he's in class, since I have the others to keep me company, but it's the nights he goes to work that I find particularly quiet. It gives me time to read over his letters and feel like he's talking to me even when he's not there, which I guess was sort of his reason for writing them to me… His writing feigns happiness, almost as if he were trying to assure me that he was okay when he was alone… He definitely knows how to look after himself… but I'm not sure that he particularly enjoyed the total independence. The journal lay flat on the nightstand where he had placed it the night I gave it to him, untouched. I feel sort of strange, knowing what I know about him and knowing he doesn't understand me the same way… Maybe… he's afraid to get into my head too… maybe it's better that way… I'm seriously screwed up in comparison…

* * *

This morning when I returned to the bedroom from my shower, I found Bebe sitting on our bed with his knees propped up. Spread against his lap was the blue journal, a few pages into the content. His eyes were drawn intently to every word, reading each character so meticulously that he didn't even recognize my presence. With a smile, I quietly walked around the bed to avoid disturbing him, allowing him to read as long as he wanted without bother. Eventually, after around ten minutes or so, he took notice and acknowledged me.

"Oh-! Gomen nasai, Tetsuya! I didn't 'ear you come in," he said, "I was caught up in our story."

A grin made its way to my lips at the phrase. "Our story." …it's sort of precious, the way he says it.

"It's okay," I said, "I'm glad you finally got around to reading it. I know you've been busy lately."

Bebe smiled up at me from the blue-cloaked journal.

"I started reading eet zis morning," he said, "Arigatou for writing eet all in 'iragana, by ze way. …heh… Ze beginning… eet really takes me back."

I sat beside him on the bed, grinning as I also remembered the day we met at the used bookstore. It seems funny that I had no idea at the time how significant that moment would be for the both of us… I can't say I imagined finding love in anyone, let alone Bebe, but that's all I've known since. His eyes filled with nostalgia at the memory.

"Eet's funny, 'ow you write me. You made me sound so calm," he laughed.

"I remember you calm," I said, then tilting my head, "Were you not?"

He scratched his head shyly, blushing as if he were to confess his love to me for the first time.

"Iie," he said, "I was panicking. Zat was ze first time you looked at me and I was so afraid. Maybe I hid eet better zan I zought…?"

"You were afraid of me?"

"N-No. I… I 'ad been watching you for a long time and… I liked you a lot…"

A smile reached my face again at the very thought.

"You liked me even back then?" I asked.

"Since I first saw you…" he admitted, "I always zought you were beautiful… and… I wanted very much to be by your side…"

After closing the journal and replacing it on the nightstand, he tucked his hair behind his ear and said quietly,

"I suppose… maybe in a different way… you wanted to be by mine as well?"

With a soft chuckle, I wrapped my arms around his waist gently and pecked his cheek, then nuzzling my forehead to his.

"I don't think it was so different…" I said.

"…honto…?"

"Whether I knew it at the time or not… I think I've loved you from the very beginning…"

My words had him smiling again, then wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pulling me closer for a kiss. His lips are so much softer than I remember…

"I'm so 'appy you're beside me again, mon chéri…" he whispered, "I finally feel like… I'm where I belong."

"Oh, Bebe…"

Incredible… it's like he knows exactly what to say… Ever since I found him living so independently, I've had a lingering feeling in the back of my mind that maybe he didn't need me as much anymore. Especially watching him fight in the Dream World… he's grown up a lot, and the change made me feel as though I was being left behind. But… hearing what he's saying now… maybe I don't really have to worry about something like that… Maybe… things aren't as different as I thought…

I leaned him back against his pillow, replying to his moan with one just as soft and passionate. His breath, twined with the faint flavor of spearmint, pressed against my skin and warmed my already burning cheeks. His lips stuck to mine briefly, pulling away with a tiny smack as we parted to gaze at each other with shy smiles. With a contented sigh, he stroked my hair away from my eyes.

"Eet's been awhile…" he whispered.

"It has…" I said softly, "…y'know… we never finished what we started the other night..."

He smiled more and caressed my cheek.

"Zat's true… So…? What should we do about zat…?" he asked playfully.

I responded with another kiss, to which he chuckled softly upon receiving as he kissed back. How long it's been, indeed… It's nice to finally catch a break… I slipped my hand underneath his shirt, feeling and indulging in the warmth and softness of his skin as I moved my lips to his neck. The warmth against my lips reminds me of his pounding heart, racing with mine in the rhythm of a passionate love song…

Suddenly, something from above made a loud bumping noise, immediately launching both of us upwards in our shock.

"The hell was that?" I exclaimed, partially irritated with the noise for interrupting our moment of intimacy.

Bebe looked up at the ceiling with a great deal of confusion.

"Zat's strange. Ze apartment upstairs eez vacant," he said, "Maybe zey finally found somebody to lease eet…"

Just great. Bebe's been alone for God knows how long and, of all times, the idiot upstairs decides he wants to move in today. Now we'll never get a minute alone. Well… unless we're quiet. I don't know how thin these walls are… …oh, whatever. We had sex at the dorm with Junpei on the other side of the wall before. But just to be safe… I kissed Bebe again, taking care not to moan when he kissed back. The tiniest squeak escaped his throat, which was followed by another heavy thud from upstairs.

"Oh, for the love of GOD!" I snarled under my breath.

What's he doing up there? Picking up the bed and dropping it? Bebe sat up slowly, looking upwards. Wha-? No! Dammit…!

"I zink zey might be moving in…" he said, "If zey are, we should go say 'ello."

I grimaced childishly.

"Can't we go… like… after…?" I muttered.

He chuckled and pecked my forehead.

"Not if ze noise eez bozering you, mon chéri. We don't want to risk distractions, ne? Besides, eet will only be a moment," he cooed.

I groaned again, but found myself helpless in his pleading gaze. If it's gonna bother us so much here, I guess it can't hurt just to go meet the neighbor until he gets settled and quiet. I grumbled a reluctant surrender, and the small kiss he gave me on the cheek as result helped my mood a little. Enough that I don't have to talk through my teeth at the new resident, at least. We got out of bed and headed out of our apartment, taking the flight of stairs for the first time to the second story of the complex. The balcony was constructed from cheap-looking iron bars; barely much to look at for fully-furnished apartments. Then again, the rent here is fairly low for how nice the interior is, so I can't say much against the design.

Bebe knocked on the neighbor's door with five quick strikes, oddly enthusiastic. Oh… Actually, now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Before I showed up, Bebe lived here by himself. Ivon was his only neighbor, and is barely around even now. The idea of having someone else around probably is exciting for him. Even if it's a bother at the moment, I guess I'm happy he finally has somebody else to be friendly with. He seems fairly good at making friends around here…

"How do you want to introduce us?" I asked.

"I guess just as we are," Bebe said, "Doushite? Why?"

"Just wondering if you were going to introduce us as a couple or if you were comfortable with that…"

"Eh? Why wouldn't I be?"

"I dunno. In case he doesn't approve or something."

"Oh. Well… if zat's so, zen zere's nozing we can do about eet," he said, turning back to the door to await the neighbor.

…huh… It's kinda nice knowing he's not worried about what others think…

The doorknob began to jiggle a bit as the new neighbor finally answered. Okay… time to be nice and forget what he interrupted. Bebe began to give a greeting, but cut off the French salutation abruptly as he caught a glimpse of the neighbor. _Neighbors_. As soon as I saw them, I understood why. I'm shocked to see them in the same apartment, considering the personalities. I've never seen them out of uniform before either; I can't believe how ordinary they look in casual wear. Both of them looked back at us with equal surprise, clearly not expecting visitors. Of all places to be, and we're all here.

"Ah! Souji-kun! Yosuke-kun!" Bebe squeaked happily, "You're our new neighbors?"

"Y-Yeah, I guess so," Yosuke stammered, taken by surprise but retaining a friendly tone, "I didn't realize you guys lived in this complex."

"Hai! We live in ze apartment under yours," Bebe told them, bowing politely despite being already acquainted, "Welcome."

"Thank you very much," Souji responded, returning the gesture with a slight nod of the head, "We'll try not to be a bother."

I wanted to say that it was too late for that, but the polite atmosphere was smothering my cynical comments. Instead, I just kept quiet. Souji spared a quick, nervous glance at Yosuke before looking back at us.

"Um… did you guys want to come inside for awhile?" he asked.

"That's okay," I said, "You guys are just getting moved in, so we don't want to be a bother…"

"Nah, it's fine. We just had a couple of bags," Yosuke said, "Come on in."

...a couple of bags? How heavy were they…? Dammit, I just want to go back to our room…

Bebe tugged on my hand, implying he wanted to take them up on the offer. I let out a soft sigh and followed him reluctantly, thanking Souji and Yosuke for the invitation as we stepped inside. The inside was a little simpler and emptier than Bebe's, I assumed because they had just moved in and Bebe has lived here for awhile.

"S-So, you guys live together?" Souji asked, "Is it just to share rent or…?"

"They're boyfriends, dumbass. You know that…" Yosuke muttered as he closed the door behind us.

"No, eet's okay," Bebe spoke up, "'E just wants to know 'ow serious ze relationship eez. Actually, Tetsuya moved in wiz me because I wanted 'im to stay. We're close enough now zat moving in togezer just made sense."

"The bottom floor is single-bedroom apartments, isn't it? Were you okay with moving that quickly?" Souji asked.

"Eet wasn't really moving quickly at all, actually. I stayed wiz Tetsuya in 'is room when we lived in ze dormitory in Port Island, and zose were single rooms."

"What about you?" I asked, "What made you guys decide to lease an apartment together?"

"Well… we thought our stay here would be more temporary, so we've been sharing the nightly fees for a double-bed hotel room," Yosuke sighed, "You can probably imagine how expensive that gets after awhile. So, we figured we'd find a cheaper and more comfortable place since we're probably gonna be here awhile."

"Eet's nice zat your both willing to 'elp each ozer out. You must be very good tomodachi," Bebe said with a smile.

"Yeah, we're pretty comfortable with each other's company," Souji said, "We're roommates back home too. Equal share on the rent, Yosuke runs most of the errands, and I take care of the housework. It seems to be a system that works pretty well for us."

"I don't know what we're gonna do when we finally get girlfriends. It'd be pretty sad if one of us had to live alone. Not to mention that Souji cooks better than any girl I've ever met," Yosuke sighed with a shrug, "Oh, well. What are you gonna do?"

"The girls we know don't have a good history of culinary skills either, so I get where you're coming from," I said, "We've been guinea pigs for our last analyst on multiple occasions. She does some impressive things with food, but not really in a good way…"

"I know, right? It's just not natural…"

The conversation didn't have enough to go on, so it followed with a horribly long and awkward silence. I took turns glancing at everyone around me, and they seemed to do the same, tittering. Souji was the one brave enough to clear his throat and attempt to move on.

"Um, so… come on in. Don't be shy. Make yourselves at home…"

We thanked them again and followed them into the living room, which was furnished with much plainer materials than our apartment. The shelves and coffee table were beige and the sofa was a dull grey. Everything looks so much cheaper… I wonder what the difference is between the rent for a two-bedroom apartment and a one-bedroom apartment… We sat with our new neighbors on the floor around the coffee table, and had to modestly refuse Souji's offer of tea three times before he left it alone. The silence among the four of us thickened…

"So…" I sighed, "This is what you two have been doing this whole time, huh?"

"W-What do you mean…?" Yosuke stuttered.

"Well, we haven't heard from you since we saved Ivon from the Dream World," I said, "You just sort of disappeared. I assume it was because you were looking to lease an apartment… To be honest… I was actually a little worried about Souji."

Souji tilted back a little in surprise.

"Me?" he asked quizzically.

"…you know… the way we left you."

He blinked and nodded once, understanding.

"Oh. No, I'm okay now. Sorry I had you worried…"

"We're 'appy you're okay, at least," Bebe said with a smile, "Maybe now zat you're settled, we can return to ze Dream World to save Nanako-chan."

Yosuke shook his head.

"Let's go tomorrow," he said, "I'm tired from moving and Souji's still complaining about his shoulder from three days ago. Besides, there's still a lot we don't know, so it would probably be best if we got together and discussed what we do. Think about it, we've already discovered a lot in the two days we went there. If we can sit down and figure things out, we might be able to find a more effective way to save lives and, ultimately, find Nanako-chan. Plus, we haven't exactly reviewed the case with the rest of you very clearly. It'd probably help if you guys had a little more insight since there are more of you than there are of us."

Souji sighed.

"As much as I'd like to get her out this very minute, I know he's right. It doesn't do us any good rushing in blind," he muttered.

"Well, zen, 'ow about we meet up at ze Academy zis afternoon?" Bebe asked, "I don't 'ave class until later, so we can 'ave our discussion before zen. After tonight, we'll be ready to go back, ne?"

"I suppose that's true," Yosuke said, "I can send Chie, Yukiko, and Teddie a text later to see if they can make it. You can get the others right?"

"Hai, no problem," Bebe replied with a pleasant smile.

The silence set in again, and awkward pressure was flat against my shoulders. I have no idea how to keep a casual conversation with these guys… Jeez, why did we even take them up on their offer to come in…? They don't even seem entirely comfortable with our company… Yosuke scratched his head bashfully.

"Say… you wouldn't happen to know if Yukari-senpai and Aigis are seeing anyone… would you?" he asked.

Oh, here we go…

"N-No, not that I know of," I said.

"Do you like zem?" Bebe asked.

"Well… yeah, they're pretty cute, right?" Yosuke asked, "Aigis might be a robot, but she's really pretty and practically human… and I've seen Yukari-senpai sneak a few peeks at Souji from time to time, so I figured it'd be worth a shot."

"Yosuke, cut it out. She's not looking at me…" Souji grumbled.

"Well, if YOU'RE not gonna make a move, I will," Yosuke hissed back.

Fat chance that'll go well for him. If Yukari wouldn't date Junpei, there's no way she'll even consider Yosuke. Even in comparison, I think Junpei would have had a better shot. Souji grimaced and looked at me apologetically.

"Pardon his forwardness. The only girl I'm really looking for right now is Nanako," he said modestly, "She's the only one I can afford to think about at the moment."

Yosuke frowned, practically insulted.

"God, try to hook a bro up, and THIS is how he repays you…" he muttered.

"So, how did the two of you first meet?" Souji asked, ignoring the glare from his partner at the dramatic subject change, "If you don't mind my asking."

Bebe chuckled.

"Not at all. Eet's sort of funny. Tetsuya and I were just talking about zat before we came over, ne, Tetsuya?" he asked cheerily.

"Yep, quite the coincidence," I muttered, remembering again what had been interrupted. Damn these two… Now I'm wondering if Yosuke has some sort of sixth sense for homosexual activity…

"Tetsuya and I met at a used bookstore back in Port Island four years ago," he went on, "We sort of 'appened upon each ozer by chance, and I invited 'im to join my Fashion Club. I was sort of surprised when 'e showed up. 'E was ze only one to ever show up, so we got a lot of time to get to know each ozer."

Yosuke grimaced faintly, and I knew immediately what he was thinking, but I didn't say anything. I'd might as well save it for when he decides to speak up. Bebe continued the story up until the point that he joined S.E.E.S., explaining that we never really started a relationship until much later. He looked at me awkwardly.

"I… actually 'aven't read past our meeting," he tittered, "I'm sort of excited and terrified to see what you zought of me ze first time I confessed to you."

"Read?" Souji asked.

"Ah. Tetsuya wrote about our time togezer in Japan, and 'e's letting me read eet," Bebe explained happily, faintly proud.

Souji smiled.

"I see," he said, then facing me, "I sort of figured you were a romantic."

"…uh… thanks?" I asked, honestly unsure of what I was supposed to say to that.

"Can we seriously talk about something else…?" Yosuke asked, fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Okay, then you pick a subject," Souji said in a tone that challenged Yosuke.

The silence returned thicker than ever, and it was growing visibly less comfortable for all four of us. I'm not really sure what to make of the relationship between these two. I'm guessing if money wasn't an object, they probably wouldn't share living space… Finally, Yosuke looked down at his watch and faced us again awkwardly.

"Well, it's getting close to lunchtime," he said, "Did you want to meet up with the others at the academy for lunch?"

Giving up on trying to make conversation with us already? Man, talking about our relationship has seriously thrown him off…

"Eh? O-Oh, hai, zat sounds good," Bebe responded, surprised by the abrupt change.

The two of them pulled out their cell phones and began texting our respective friends to meet us at Rěvefutur Academy in the next hour. I shared a glance with Souji, who responded with a slightly apologetic shrug. Even though we haven't really had much chance to speak, I feel like the two of us share some similarities. He's sort of quiet, just the way I used to be… Since I'm co-leading with him, it seems funny that we don't know more about each other personally, or even each other's leading strategies or battle style. We have time, I suppose, but knowing so little bothers me. We have to know we can trust one another, and I can't honestly say we do… Maybe as long as we work beside each other, the more comfortable we'll feel around each other. Until then, I guess we're just doomed to awkward meet-ups like this.

* * *

"I've gotta say, I'm really impressed with this academy," Chie said as she placed her food beside Yukiko's on the table, "Too bad it's not our area of study, or this could have been the perfect place to study abroad."

"You're just happy because the dining halls have steak," Yosuke muttered, placing a can of cola in front of himself and handing a can of Dr. Salt NEO to Souji, "You'd go to clown school if they promised you a filet for every meal…"

"Hey, filet for every meal at a low price would be worth-! You know what, Yosuke, you're an asshole. Shut up."

Yukiko began laughing, having immense difficulty in composing herself again. She's more easily amused than I would have expected… Yukari and Aigis sat beside the other two girls in the group, placing down identical plates of food on the table's surface. Yosuke took an interest immediately.

"Aigis, you eat too?" he asked curiously.

She nodded.

"It's by no means necessary for me to eat, as I'm still a machine, but I do find it important to join in the social convention of communion," she responded.

"…yeah, when you say stuff like that, I can kinda tell," Yosuke replied uneasily.

Bebe looked up from the cranes he was folding from his napkins, searching around the dining area thoroughly. We'd managed to grab a relatively remote table from the rest of the students so that we could discuss our business privately. Once he had finished looking, he turned back to the group and spoke lowly.

"Eez everybody 'ere…?" he asked.

I calculated a headcount mentally: Yukari, Aigis, Junpei, Bebe, Souji, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, and myself, so that makes nine… Hm… We're short… Souji noticed as well, looking around at his group and mine.

"Naoto can't make it today, unfortunately… Are Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai coming?" he asked.

"I don't think so," I said, "They've got their own business to attend to, so I imagine they don't have time."

"Well, then we're just missing Teddie, I guess."

"Augh, where the hell is that stupid bear…?" Yosuke asked, checking his watch irritably, "I told him what time to be here…"

"Maybe he's caught up with that little blonde chick," Junpei said, "I hear from Yuka-tan and Tetsuya they've been attached at the hip since they met."

"You mean Marie-san?" Chie asked, "That must be the girl he texts about so much. 'Marie and I are going out for Topsicles!' 'Having a bear-riffic time with Marie!' 'Marie told me her favorite color is blue.' It's cute that he's so passionate about her, but I'm seriously about to kick him in the face if he keeps updating us on everything."

"I'm going to block him if he doesn't stop abusing that phone," Yukiko said bitterly, "Yosuke, I blame you for giving him one."

"Hey-! It's not like we're not getting those texts too," Yosuke snapped, "I gave him the phone so he could keep in touch with us over important things."

"Maybe Marie is just zat important to 'im," Bebe said cutely, though he was met with a chorus of groans from the victims of Teddie's texting spree.

Junpei leaned to the side to look around Chie.

"Oh, hold up, I spot a blonde," he said.

I looked to him irritably.

"Seriously, that is not that uncommon here," I muttered.

"No, no, that's definitely Teddie," Junpei said, "And it looks like he brought your friends, too."

What? I looked past Chie and Yukiko abruptly, hoping like crazy that Junpei was mistaken. But sure enough, Marie walked by Teddie's side as Pierre trailed in behind them with his arms crossed. Augh, Teddie, what the hell are you doing…? They're not supposed to know about the Dream World. It negates half the purpose of this meeting if we can't discuss the Shadows' role… The others were already looking upon the situation as a problem as well.

"Wha-? What is he THINKING?" Chie whispered irritably.

"Augh, he's so stupid," Souji grumbled, facing toward the front again.

Teddie and Marie came bounding toward us happily, while Pierre lagged behind with far less enthusiasm. I can only imagine why…

"Good afternoon!" Teddie chirped to us, "Beary good to see everybody again!"

"Bonjour!" Marie greeted cheerily, sparing an extra friendly wave to Bebe and me.

"I hope you don't mind, but I brought Marie and her brother to join us for lunch," Teddie stated obviously.

Pierre turned to Teddie with exasperation.

"You don't even know my name, do you?" he asked.

Although I knew nobody in the group was particularly happy that Teddie was screwing around with our plans, they immediately put on smiles for the twins and remained polite. It's not their fault if Teddie didn't explain what we were doing after all, so we don't really have reason to be bitter towards them, but I still felt initial worry.

"So, you're Marie?" Yukiko asked politely, "Teddie's told us so much about you."

Yosuke's hand went over his mouth to conceal a smile as he suppressed laughter. Marie didn't take notice, blushing and smiling a little at Yukiko's comment.

"O-Oh, has he really?" she asked modestly.

"What's not to talk about?" Teddie asked with a flirtatious flick of his sparkling golden hair, "She's an absolutely fascinating girl."

Marie giggled and hid her face bashfully, giving everyone a brief opportunity to roll their eyes in disgust at the overly affectionate duo. Teddie peeked over at the other end of the dining hall before declaring that he had to make a stop by the men's room and would return posthaste. Once he was out of earshot, I turned to Marie.

"So you two are getting along well, I take it?" I asked.

"Oh, absolutely!" she said with a grin, "We have a lot of similar interests, and he's speaks the most beautiful French. Are you sure he's Japanese?"

"No one ever said he was," Yosuke said, "We don't even know what he is."

"Well, whatever he is, he's certainly out of this world," Marie responded with a flirtatious smile that almost replicated Teddie's.

"Oh, save your lame pick-up lines for Teddie," Pierre muttered in disgust, "And maybe he'll respond with another weird bear-pun, which I still don't entirely get."

"Being left as a third wheel, huh?" I asked.

"Well, yeah, but that's only half of it," Pierre muttered, "Seriously, where did you find this guy?"

"Let's just say he's a special one," Souji said with a tired smile.

"I'll say. He certainly makes an easily identifiable foreigner."

"He does in Japan too."

"Huh. Maybe he really is an alien from outer space."

"No, really! Do you know what he said when I asked where he was from?" Marie asked, "He said he was from the _Shadow World_. Oooh, he's so dark and mysterious~!"

The restrained horror reflected from everyone else's faces (except clueless Junpei's) onto mine. Teddie, what kind of idiot ARE you? How the HELL can he be so open with her? Immediately following Marie's statement, he returned with a happy, sparkling grin.

"Sorry to delay, my dear," he purred, "Did you miss me?"

Yosuke responded with a glare and sharp blow to Teddie's arm, to which Souji jumped a little.

"Was the force really necessary…?" he asked.

"Oww, how cruel!" Teddie pouted, gingerly rubbing his arm.

"Hey, why don't the two of you grab something for lunch and meet us back here?" I asked, attempting to give us some time to ourselves.

"Oh, sure!" Marie responded, completely on board with the idea.

"You guys should try the steak if you haven't already," Chie said, "It's totally worth it."

She stood in line for fifteen minutes at least. What a brilliant girl.

"Oh, okay, thanks," Pierre replied politely.

He and his sister both waved to us again before heading back to where the food was. Immediately once they were far enough away, Chie threw her foot against Teddie's shin.

"Ow! Hey! Why is everybody hitting me?" Teddie whined.

"Are you stupid or something?" she hissed, "We're talking about the Dream World, remember? You can't just invite people! They'll think we're insane!"

"Okay, okay, come on!" Souji hissed, "Let's make the best of our time here, okay? We don't have long."

Teddie sat quickly between Souji and Chie, keeping quiet and still. Amazing how well-behaved he is when it's his leader's voice… Souji sighed and stood up, holding a newspaper and an envelope in one arm. He placed the newspaper down so that the front page was spread wide open, visible to everyone surrounding the table. Ivon's tired face was printed in light grey in the center, under bold text that read, "Miraculous Recovery!"

"First and foremost," Souji said, "The issue of the comas. I think it speaks for itself that these and the Dream World are connected somehow, as we were able to save this man. The colored bubbles inside must represent dreams that each of the coma victims are trapped inside and can't escape without facing their Shadows."

"I still don't like it…" Teddie muttered, "I told you, I don't feel right about those things. They're Shadow-like, but they're nothing I've seen before."

"That's true... Bebe's Shadow didn't yield when he accepted it… Ivon wasn't even conscious to defend himself," Yosuke said.

"I've never even seen a Shadow spawn from a person before," Junpei said, "They're a lot stronger than normal ones too."

"Yes, exactly," Souji said, "And these Shadows don't back down, even after acceptance from their host. In fact, Bebe's actually seemed to like it."

"Demo… 'is words are still fresh in my 'ead…" Bebe mused, "'Iding wouldn't 'ave 'elped you eizer…'"

"So wouldn't that mean everything we know about Shadows is void?" Chie asked, "These are like a whole new breed."

"Maybe they've just had their asses kicked too many times and are trying to overpower us," Junpei snickered proudly.

"That's actually a valid point," I said, amazed that Junpei was able to contribute something so valuable with less than intelligent words, "Maybe after defeat, they have to learn to adapt to their environments and return with built immunities. If that's true, then maybe this loophole of accepting them really has been patched."

"Which leaves us with no other option but to fight…" Yukari murmured.

"And we're so damn good at it," Junpei added with a grin.

"So then, what's causing the comas?" Aigis asked, "What makes the Shadows choose who and when to attack?"

"I'm guessing it has to do with the feelings we hear from their Shadow-thing," Teddie said, "People who hid themselves got thrown into the TV."

"Yeah, and Ivon's thoughts weren't exactly something that pass as acceptable in society. Robot apocalypse is a little extreme for just being pissed about kids on their phones…" Yosuke said.

If what Teddie was saying was true, then Ivon must have fallen into a coma when he was dwelling on those thoughts… But something's still bothering me.

"Then why did Bebe's Shadow appear in Ivon's dream? …and he didn't even fall into a coma," I pointed out.

"Actually, we don't know if that's really true," Yukari said, "You said you ran into Bebe's Shadow when you went into the Dream World, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, when you were doing that, the rest of us were still conscious. You guys were totally out. Nothing we did would wake you up. That's what had us so freaked out and why the four of you ended up in an ambulance when you finally came to."

"All four of us were like that?" Souji asked.

He crossed his arms thoughtfully, biting his lip.

"So… when we enter the Dream World, are we falling into comas as well?"

"We still haven't addressed the fact that the only way we can enter the Dream World is by sleeping in the courtyard," Chie said, "When Yukiko and I sleep at the hotel, we just have normal dreams. Is that the same with everyone else?"

The rest of us nodded, concerned.

"So what about the courtyard is significant to this…?" Yukiko asked, "Why should that place matter over everywhere else? It seems sort of like a random place, having it be in the center of a fashion academy…"

"Well, we don't really have enough to go on there…" Yosuke muttered.

"We don't have much here, either," Souji said, opening the envelope and withdrawing a small, clear bag.

He placed at the center of the table, so everyone could get a look. At first, I didn't understand what I was supposed to be looking at, but I then took notice of a single strand of blond hair inside the bag. Beside it, Souji placed some photos of a wooden surface with small finger prints and another plastic bag with a paper inside.

"Nanako's kidnapper left behind two things: a hair and a flight confirmation for a one-way trip to Nanparaux," he said, "The confirmation is for a single passenger, meaning someone wasn't on board. I find it hard to believe the ticket was for Nanako, which means something happened to her somewhere between Nanparaux and Inaba."

"There aren't any finger prints on the confirmation?" I asked.

"The forensic analysis said no," Yosuke said, "It's like the guy knows how to clean up after himself or something. Like he's some kind of professional. At least, that's what Naoto says. He was a little sloppier about what Nanako left behind, since he neglected her fingerprints on the table and the scent the police dogs found that led to the apartment complex."

Souji placed his hand into his back pocket and withdrew a wallet, shifting through the contents before extracting what he had been after.

"This is the most recent picture we have of her," he said, handing it to me first so I could pass it around to the rest.

The little girl in the photo had a sweet, innocent smile, curving her lips to point up at her rose cheeks. Her chocolate eyes matched her hair, which had been fashioned into low pigtails that dangled over her tiny shoulders. She held herself modestly, though dressed in layers, standing on a rocky bed beside a clear stream. Everything about her grabbed my chest tightly and riddled my thoughts with anxiety. Just knowing her current circumstances… makes it difficult to really see her in such a happy, unsuspecting state. I slowly passed the picture on to Bebe, shaking my head slightly.

"January 2nd, 2014, my uncle reported that Nanako failed to return home from the Inaba shopping district," Souji said somberly, "We asked around, but the only witnesses claimed to have seen her alone. Since they often saw her in the district alone, no one really thought anything of it. There also wasn't a report of any suspicious activity or individuals around, leaving us with little to no portrait of the kidnapper."

"Did you at least ask the landlord about the resident in the apartment who left?" I asked.

"My uncle did," Souji responded, "It just so happened that the landlord was new, and that the kidnapper's landlord had just died. We already tried to look into whether or not it was a homicide, but the cause of death was natural. The timing was impeccable for the culprit, though. He must have been thrilled."

Both Junpei and Bebe reacted similarly to the way I did when seeing the picture, though Yukari and Aigis seemed a bit more upset by it, passing it back to Souji quickly.

"Dojima sent for Souji, Chie, Naoto, and me the instant it became a missing person case," Yosuke said, "He doesn't really get everything behind the Shadows, but he had the same instinct that something was fishy about the whole thing. I think it's pretty safe to say that his and Souji's intuition was right on the money."

"But if Nana-chan is really in the Dream World, then she's in a coma, isn't she…?" Teddie whimpered.

Souji rubbed his face, his shoulders tense. Without speaking a word, he began gathering the pile of evidence from the table and sliding it back into the envelope. It was probably something he'd taken into account awhile ago, but I'm sure it was difficult being reminded by someone else who worried about the same thing. I don't blame him for not wanting to look at the worst case scenarios, but they are fairly blinding. Wherever this child is… it's looking a lot like she may be in a desperate situation. If people die from the comas… then how long does she have? …how long do WE have?

"Everything okay?"

I looked up to realize that Marie and Pierre had made it back to the table and were entering our less than light atmosphere with caution. Pierre seemed particularly worried about the situation, having been the one to speak up, but I knew we needed to play it off casually. Even though they already know about the kidnapping, they don't really need to be involved.

"Y-Yeah, we're fine," Yosuke replied, attempting to smile for himself and his downcast partner, "Just discussing business."

"Oh! Marie-chan, sit next to me!" Teddie squeaked, flipping his mood in less than a second.

"Okay!" Marie responded with identical enthusiasm, then up at her brother, "Come on, Pierre!"

"Screw that," Pierre spat, "You go sit with him yourself. I need a break from you two."

"Fine, I can just kick you under the table, then," Marie said.

"I'd like to see you try," Pierre muttered as he circled to my side of the table to take a seat between Souji and me.

Marie stuck her tongue out immaturely and pulled up a chair from another table to sit beside Teddie and Chie. The surface of the table came up to her chest, only coming to the middles of the rest of us, making her short stature immediately more apparent. As she placed her food up on the table, she took notice to the newspaper in the center.

"Oh! You managed to get one!" she exclaimed happily, reaching for it with a bit of struggle.

Pierre sighed and gave the paper a little nudge toward his sister so that she could pick it up.

"The moment the papers on the Miracle Case were released, it's been near-impossible to find one!" she exclaimed.

"Stroke of luck, I guess?" Souji said modestly.

Marie flipped the paper open and began reading it thoroughly.

"I heard that he woke up out of the blue. The doctors still aren't sure what happened," Pierre said.

"Well… it's good that there's been a turn around, right?" Bebe asked with a smile, "It means there's a chance for recovery."

"Yeah, but why now, and why him?" Pierre asked.

"Th-That's my neighbor, Pierre. I'm happy he's okay," Bebe stammered, his voice twined with a bit of irritation.

"I didn't mean it like that, Bebe. I'm happy he's okay no matter who he is. I just don't understand how a man in his late sixties was able to overcome the disease and men in their early twenties haven't. Doesn't that seem sort of funny to you?"

"It's just a coincidence. Lighten up, already," Marie piped up.

"This is a serious breakthrough with little to no valuable information on it. How can you turn a blind eye to it?"

"Maybe it's nothing more than falling into favorable odds," Yukiko said, feigning cluelessness, "The chances of survival are slim, but not absent."

"The age thing is still bugging me…" Pierre muttered.

"Maybe the doctors have had the cure all along," Aigis said in a somber tone.

"Aigis, no. No starting government conspiracies," Yukari said flatly.

"The way I look at this," Marie said abruptly, replacing the newspaper on the table, "Is that things are finally looking up. And as long as they continue this way, we'll have nothing to worry about. Whatever they're doing, they're doing right, so we shouldn't complain about it."

"I'm not complaining about it. I just want to understand how it works…"

"You just relax, little brother," Teddie said with a smile and sparkly flick of the hair, "Everything's in good hands."

"I swear you have no idea what my name is," Pierre muttered bitterly.

"…Jean, right?"

"Close enough," Marie said, missing the glare her brother shot her as she looked down at the table, "Oh, shoot, I forgot napkins."

"Not to worry, my dear," Teddie said, "You stay put and I'll bring them to you!"

"My, aren't you a prince?" Marie swooned.

"Teddie the Napkin Prince," Yukiko said under her breath, and then began laughing hysterically at her own joke.

"Be back in a dash, darling," Teddie said, quickly off in another direction.

Marie covered her blushing cheeks.

"He's always doing stuff like that," she said, "I wonder if he likes me?"

Yukiko's laughing intensified, and Chie was laughing with her now. Pierre merely shook his head and began picking at his food. Shortly afterward, he jerked his attention upward.

"What the HELL is he doing?" he hissed.

Everyone at the table looked off in the direction Teddie had run, realizing he had stopped at another table full of girls. Teddie, REALLY? Marie's right HERE!

"Augh, that man-whore…" I growled.

"Wait, wait, wait! Listen!" Marie said quickly, listening in closely.

Reluctantly, I listened closer to what he was saying.

"I don't mean to bother you," he said, "But could you spare a few napkins for the pretty young lady at my table?"

"Ohh, he called me pretty!" Marie squeaked happily.

"He couldn't just go get napkins other people weren't using?" Yosuke asked, "What a lazy ass."

Considering my past experience with females, it was a surprise to me that the girls at the other table agreed without even a frown.

"Absolutely," said one, "She's adorable! Is she your little sister?"

"Uh… n-no, actually, she's the tall guy's sister," Teddie responded.

"Wow, he really doesn't know your name," Yosuke said to Pierre awkwardly.

"Oh, crap. Crap, crap," Pierre under his breath.

But I knew it wasn't Teddie's forgetfulness that was disturbing him. Marie had stopped smiling and was focused intently on her food.

"Is she visiting her brother at college, then?" another asked, "Must be exciting for her to see such a big school. Maybe she can enroll when she's older."

"Um… right. Well, thanks for the napkins!" Teddie squeaked.

I didn't bother watching Teddie return to the group, being more concerned about what was going through Marie's head. It's true that I perceived her appearance as young, but I never said anything aloud since it seemed rude and unnecessary. I just assumed she was short for her age… Marie continued picking at the food on her plate without as much as a burrowed brow. She looked away from the girls, so it was clear that she'd heard what they said…

"I'm back!" Teddie exclaimed, handing Marie the napkins, "Here you are, my dear."

Marie looked back up at him with a smile, though far less enthusiastic than I was used to seeing her.

"Thank you, Teddie," she said, "I appreciate it."

He recognized the change and tilted his head. Pierre slowly placed his hand on the table and hovered over his seat as if to walk away.

"Do you want me to go say something…?" he asked.

"About what?" Marie asked, shrugging nonchalantly, "It's not a big deal. Oh, that reminds me, Bebe? Thanks for referring us to your manager. That really helped us out a lot on our last project."

Bebe blinked, confused by the abrupt subject change.

"O-Oh, sure. No problem," he said.

"Hey, once midterms come around, we could all go shopping for material together. That'd be kinda fun, right? I'd like to pick your brain on proper techniques for fashion designs."

Her smile was genuine once more, as it seemed that she had successfully shrugged off the previous conversation. As the tension left the area gradually, the rest of us relaxed and continued our lunch with a lighthearted chat. With Marie and Pierre part of the group, we were left no other choice but to put a pin in our private discussion until further notice. The day rolled on casually, without another thought to dwell on.

* * *

The crickets outside were the only noise to be heard in the room once dusk had fallen. Bebe's warm side pressed against mine and his soft hair nestled beneath my chin as we lay cuddled up on the bed with our respective reading selections. As I continued to pass through pages of his letters, I grew more aware of how slow he read through Japanese. For about every four pages I read, he would turn the page of the journal. The last time I took a peek at his progress, he was around the first day we spent together in Iwatodai. It'll take some time, I guess. Until then, I have a few years' worth of letters to catch up on… The past few mainly discussed his future, trying to decide what he wanted to do verses what would make him successful. His uncle pushed for the latter, though supportive of his decision to pursue something in fashion. It still doesn't really make sense why this moron wouldn't want Bebe attending Rěvefutur if he was really okay with his career choice…

Sighing, I flipped to the next letter…

_Dear Tetsuya,_

_ I 'ad an interesting dream last night. A wonderful and surreal sort of dream. I know eet might seem funny to you, but I want you to know eet. In ze dream, you 'ad never died. I never 'ad to leave you and zere were no Shadows. Eet was like… everyzing was normal. Ze way eet should be. But ze night we made love… I became pregnant._

I blinked. Whoa, what…?

_I know, I know. Eet's really dumb. _

No, but it's weird.

_I don't even remember 'ow I figured eet out, I just sort of knew… Dreams don't make sense sometimes. Eet's weird, but… When I told you, you were so 'appy. You promised to stay beside me. To 'elp me raise ze baby and be zere for me every moment of every day._

I smiled a little and nuzzled my cheek against Bebe's head affectionately. Kind of a weird direction for this dream, but I couldn't say that I'd mind… I'm not entirely out of character in this dream either, as some people tend to be in dreams…

_I don't ever remember giving birth, but before I knew eet, I was walking zrough Port Island wiz you and our son… Tetsuya, 'e was beautiful. 'E 'ad your 'air, eyes, and nose. 'Is skin was like mine, and 'e was playful like me when I was little. 'E looked up at you, asking you to pick 'im up, and when you did, 'e smiled such a pretty smile. Your smile…_

They say people can't fabricate faces in their dreams… that the faces had to be seen at some point in time… I wonder if this is Bebe's way of picking out particular features of mine that he's fond of…

'_E placed 'is tiny 'and on your mouth, and you kissed eet sweetly._

"_I love you, Daddy," 'e told you._

_I swear, my love, I'd never 'ad such a beautiful dream. Such vivid colors and ze warmth of ze spring sun radiated upon my face as we strolled zrough Port Island wiz ze cherry blossoms in full bloom. Ze only way eet could 'ave possibly been better would be if eet was real._

I haven't smiled this much in a long time… Something about this image… really puts me at peace…

_Zough neizer of us spoke a name… I knew ze name we 'ad chosen for our child. Eet wasn't Japanese… but eet was most mysterious… I remember 'is name was Pharos._

…

…

…

I looked at Bebe slowly, realizing that he had been staring at a single page of the journal for a particularly long time. My eye fell upon a single name in the text, and I knew immediately what was going through his head. He looked back up at me, his expression dulled by shock.

"…Pharos, huh…?" he asked softly.

I tittered.

"Spooky… isn't it…?" I asked.

He nodded and sat up slowly, closing the journal and placing it back on the nightstand.

"So you read about ze dream I 'ad…?" he asked, "…knowing I never knew about 'im… what do you suppose zat means…?"

"Hard to say…" I muttered, "Seems too weird to be a coincidence…"

He smiled.

"Maybe we're destined by fate," he said sweetly.

He looked back down at his lap when I responded with a smile.

"Eto… gomenasai… I'm really dumb… Zat was probably not ze best way to describe zat dream…" he murmured awkwardly.

"No. I think it sounded wonderful," I assured him with a smile, "It actually made me happy just imagining it…"

I pecked his cheek.

"And you know… even without a child, I would still consider the two of us a family…"

He grinned.

"Family…?" he asked softly, "Tetsuya…"

"I love you," I said, "…even if your dreams involve you getting pregnant."

He laughed and placed his arms around my shoulders, pulling me in for a kiss.

Before I had the chance to return the embrace, my cell phone blipped. Seriously? …y'know what, screw it. It's probably Yosuke being an asshole. I placed my arms around Bebe and kissed him back, letting out a soft moan. Bebe grunted and pulled away.

"Tetsuya, are you going to get zat?" he asked.

"No," I said flatly, kissing him again and managing to extract a soft giggle.

Immediately following, my phone began ringing. DAMMIT! What the hell? Can he not leave us alone? I swear he's got a sixth sense for this!

I grabbed up my phone quickly and thrust it open against my ear.

"Yosuke, seriously, GET OVER-!"

"_T-Tetsuya…?"_

The horrified voice on the other line caught me off-guard and my anger dropped immediately. Wait a minute, I recognize this voice. This isn't even Yosuke…

"Pierre…?"

"_Tetsuya, I need you… please…!"_

Bebe seemed able to hear his voice and was also concerned.

"_I don't know what happened…! I wasn't even there, how could I not be there…?"_

"Hey, hey, calm down. What's going on?" I asked.

"_I'm sorry… I'm at the hospital… can you meet me down here…? Quickly…?"_

"Y-Yeah, sure, we're on our way," I said quickly, getting to my feet, "Just stay where you are, and we'll be there as soon as we can," I promised.

Bebe was already standing once I hung up, and we were both dashing for the door. The hospital? Shit, what's happening…?


	14. Losing Control

**Rendezvous**

**Chapter Thirteen – Losing Control**

Bebe and I made it to the hospital in fifteen minute's time by bus, though we didn't take a second to dawdle once we arrived. At the back of the bustling white lobby stood Pierre, highly noticeable in dark clothing among the bright scrubs of the nurses and white coats of doctors. As we approached, I realized his face and eyes were splotched with red, tear tracks reflecting the florescent lights from above. His shoulders shuddered violently as his arms held themselves close to his middle.

"Pierre?" I asked breathlessly, once we were close enough, "What's going on?"

He abruptly jerked his attention towards me, thrusting his arms around my shoulders tightly and collapsing in sobs against my shoulder.

"P-Pierre, what happened?" Bebe asked nervously, trying to meet his eyes.

His shudders battered against my front and his sobs were muffled against my shirt as he vented his distress without words. After about a minute's worth of crying, he picked up his face slightly, just enough to croak out an explanation.

"She's in a coma…" he whimpered, "Her roommate found her on the floor in their room…"

…What…?!

"M-Marie…?!" I gasped, "She's-?!"

He nodded shakily, frantic.

"I don't know how long she has…!" he sobbed, "She's my sister…! She's the only one I have and the one who's always been there for me!"

He shook his head and burrowed it against my shirt again.

"And I was being such an ass to her… I should have been happy she finally found somebody she was interested in… She's going to die thinking I wasn't happy for her… when it was everything she wanted…"

"H-Hey, don't talk like that," I said, "It'll be all right. Someone woke up, remember…? If he can pull through, she can."

"That was one person!" Pierre snapped, "It'd might as well be a fluke!"

"Pierre…!" Bebe gasped.

"I want my sister to make it, okay?! But I'm not going to fill my head with hopes and fantasies and wait around for some damn miracle if it never happens! As I see it now, I'm losing her and I can't fight for her the way she does for me! All I can do is watch her die like our grandmother!"

I jerked him away angrily from my shoulder and stared him in the eyes.

"Now you listen to me," I snarled, "You need to calm the hell down. You know your sister is strong. She can get through this, and so will you. But your pessimistic attitude isn't helping her fight. If you were the one in the coma, do you think she'd give up on you?!"

Hesitantly, he shook his head.

"Then you've got to believe in her no matter what… Really, what harm could that do?"

His hold loosened and he let go of me slowly, wiping his tears away with his sleeve. Though I had him pacified for the moment, I knew his mind was still frazzled with worry and grief. Everyone has their own way of dealing with tragic situations, but I guess I'm surprised his is like this… When he had steadied his breathing enough to speak, he sighed a reluctant surrender.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, "I just… I don't know what to do without her… Sometimes I think she's the one who holds me together… and watching her like this without any way to repay her for everything she's done for me… makes me feel lost…"

Bebe approached him and placed his hand on his arm.

"She'll make it out of this okay, Pierre," he said, "I'm confident you'll see her awake again…"

Pierre shook his head.

"But what if she doesn't…?" he asked.

"She will," I said, "Just trust us…"

I don't know what else I can say to make him believe us. It's not like we can tell him that we're personally involved in her fate… But he needs to understand that he's not losing her… and he can't give up on her… I don't want to see him lose faith… With a calm sigh, Pierre closed his eyes and ceased his crying.

"Okay…" he whispered, "For her… I'll believe she's strong enough to make it…"

I nodded, though unable to smile through my own concern for our friend. I'm almost struggling to keep my own faith here, but I have to remain confident that we'll be able to handle her Shadow they way we did Ivon's…

"Good…" I said quietly.

Pierre shuddered and sniffled, keeping his eyes on his feet. I feel bad for snapping, but it was the only way to calm him down… At least this way, his outlook on the situation can be a bit more positive at the moment…

"I'm sorry…" I said quietly, "…neither of you deserved this…"

"Is there anything we can do to help…?" Bebe asked.

(Aside from saving his sister, anyway.)

"No…" Pierre croaked, shaking his head weakly, "I'm… I'm just going to stay by her tonight… the way she always did for me…"

"Okay… we'll keep you both in our thoughts and prayers…" Bebe said softly.

"And thanks for letting us know," I added.

"Not at all," Pierre said, rubbing his eye, "You're our closest friends… Even if we haven't known each other long… I still felt like you should be a part of it…"

After exchanging sympathetic embraces and farewells with Pierre for the night, Bebe and I went back outside to the front of the hospital. The night was quiet, and the wind was particularly frosty for spring. I took a long gaze up at the sky, unable to see stars through the city lights, though the moon stood out nearly full. Otherwise, the sky would be nothing but black… I'm not sure how long we have to save Marie… but I can't afford to lose her… She was the one who volunteered to help me find Bebe when I had no one else to turn to. She had dreams and fantasies… always beaming and cheerful, like a ray of sunlight. Knowing all of that makes it hard to grasp the fact that a Shadow was growing within her…

"Tetsuya…" Bebe said quietly, "We 'ave to do somezing quickly, before eet's too late… I don't want to break our promise to Pierre… or to ourselves…"

I sighed and took my cell phone from my pocket.

"We're not gonna break that promise," I said, "We'll see to it that she wakes up tomorrow…"

I opened the phone and dialed the first number that came to mind, placing the device by my ear as I awaited his voice. After three rings, a groggy response came through.

"_Ugh… Tetsuya, what is it…?" _Souji asked.

"We've got our next rescue mission starting first thing tomorrow," I said, "…it's Marie…"

* * *

The sun peeked over the top of the courtyard's perimeter, lighting up the pink petals of the cherry blossom tree that was still slowly withering its flowers for the coming of the bright green leaves. The air was still chilly with night, though that time had passed hours ago. The surrounding campus was silent, without a single passerby to disturb the silence of the moment. Only the seven of us were present.

When I checked in with Pierre this morning, I was relieved that he reported Marie had made it through the night. As long as our luck doesn't run out, we can have her out of this mess soon. I left it up to Yukari and Aigis to stock up on supplies from the pharmacy this morning, so they're the only ones besides Teddie who are missing. We're gonna have to go without Akihiko today, but hopefully we'll be enough. Souji and his group stood across from Junpei, Bebe, and me, somber and quiet. Though they had little to say this morning, I could sense their determination and will to fight. Even if they only met her yesterday, Marie was sort of important to their party as well…

The sound of rushed footsteps approached alongside a high-pitched squeaking noise. Yukari and Aigis arrived first with breathless apologies for the wait, and then came Teddie in his bear suit trailing closely behind.

"Is it true…?!" he asked, his voice quivering with anxiety, "Is Marie-chan really…?"

I nodded.

"She's the one we're looking for today," I said, "Apparently, she fell fast last night… We're not sure how long we have, so let's try to pull this off in one go, all right?"

"I don't understand what happened…" Chie said, "She seemed just fine yesterday afternoon… There weren't any symptoms of illness or anything…"

"It's the first time we've all personally known the person who fell…" Yukiko murmured.

Yukari turned and showed me a bulging plastic bag.

"It was still early enough that Ivon was still at the pharmacy when we went down. He knew we were going back to save someone else and offered a better discount. We picked up everything we could carry," she said, "I just hope it's enough…"

"I think we can make do with that," I said, "If not, we can always rely on healing skills."

Souji looked around at our slightly smaller group with a furrowed brow, clearly bothered by something. His mind is sort of elsewhere this morning. I just hope it's not going to affect the fight today…

"Are we ready…?" he asked.

"I think so," I said, then to the rest, "Everyone?"

They all responded with a single nod, though all quiet. Even Teddie. I'd never seen him less than exploding with energy before. I guess I never thought about it but, of all of us, this tragedy has struck him the hardest.

"I'm ready…" he said quietly, "I won't let her down…"

* * *

The sight of red was extremely disturbing to my eyes when we re-entered the Dream World. None of the bubbles were green today, which I can only assume is a bad thing. The problem is, with them all looking the same, we'll have to listen particularly close for Marie in order to find her. She could be just about anywhere…

"Does anyone remember what Marie's voice sounds like…?" Junpei asked, "I couldn't really talk to her or understand her, so I dunno if I'd know her by ear…"

"I think I'd remember if I heard it…" Yosuke said contemplatively, "But it's not like there's anything unique to her voice…"

"Maybe to Yosuke ears!" Teddie retorted, "But to Teddie ears, there is a difference!"

He cupped his paws behind his little blue ears and began listening to the silence intently, shushing Yosuke aggressively when he tried to speak up. I have to keep my ears open too. Hopefully, I'll know what voice to listen for, but I'm fairly certain I'd know Marie's voice over strangers'. I couldn't even hear the others breathe as we all listened closely for a voice. Any voice. But the silence that responded was making me feel less at ease. If we have no direction, we'll end up wasting valuable time searching through the wrong bubbles, and we don't have much time to spare. If we get closer to the bubble field, maybe we'll start hearing-

"_Big Bro? Are you there?__"_

…that's definitely not the voice I was listening for…

Souji was already moving, looking around for the source of the voice.

"Nanako, where are you?" he asked aloud.

"_Are you here to save me?"_

"I'm here," Souji said, "Can you hear me?"

"_Can you hear me…?"_

"Nanako?"

The longer it took for her to respond, the more frustrated Souji became. He started passing by the bubbles in the field and listening to each one closely. Reluctantly, the other members of his group began to follow. Augh… this isn't what we're supposed to be doing. We're already a team member short…

"Guys, come on," I said, "We've gotta find Marie."

Teddie looked up from a bubble quickly, almost as if he'd completely forgotten the mission he was so dedicated to.

"M-Marie-chan and Nana-chan, both…?" he asked.

Yukari and Aigis went forward as well, but I'm not sure who they're listening for, exactly. Junpei followed them, having nothing better to do, which left Bebe and I alone before the field. Something isn't right about this… When we heard Ivon here, his voice came from outside, but we couldn't understand what he was saying at all. Why can we hear what Nanako is saying within our ears when she speaks so quietly…?

"I hear something!"

Teddie began circling about one area of the field excitably, looking at three different bubbles. A faint, incoherent cry rang through the abyss, and I recognized it instantly.

"Zat's Marie for sure," Bebe said, going on ahead to where Teddie was.

"She's in this one!" Teddie announced, waving as he hovered over one of the three red bubbles.

The rest of us gathered around the bubble and watched it carefully. An image materialized inside, blurred by ripples much like Ivon's. This time, I was able to make out the face of a young girl with blond hair that fell past her waist in braided pigtails. She looked directly up, though not at any of us specifically, overwhelmed by something above her head. She snapped her attention back to her own level, frantic, and began to run away from sight. When she was gone, the bubble turned black inside. No doubt in my mind… I recognized her…

"She's here… I'm positive this is where she is," I said, "Let's be ready for anything…"

"I'm ready…" Teddie said quietly, "I'm ready to get her out safe…"

"Wait."

Everyone redirected their attention to Souji, who looked behind himself reluctantly before facing me again. I knew he couldn't stay quiet about his thoughts much longer…

"Tetsuya, you take your group to look for Marie," he said, "I'll take mine to look for Nanako."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you talking about?" I asked, "We've got five members on each team. We struggled even with eleven total, yesterday. No, we need to stay together."

"But Nanako's calling out for help," Souji said, "You said it yourself. We don't have much time, and I don't want to risk losing her."

"You won't lose her," I said, "But Marie's the one we agreed to look for today."

"Y'know, you stayed behind to help us find Nanako," Souji said, his voice tight with impatience, "We've figured out she's here, and now you're saying we should abandon that? She's as much our responsibility as Marie is."

"I didn't say we should abandon that. I said we should find Marie first," I responded sharply, "We know where Marie is. We can't find a direction on Nanako's voice. Why don't we deal with what's at hand before getting lost along the way?"

"We've been looking for Nanako blindly since the beginning of the year! That's why we came here in the first place!" Souji barked, "It led us this far, and we shouldn't waste any more time! We're lucky she's okay!"

"It… led you this far because of us…" I pointed out.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Souji snarled.

"He's got a point, Souji… He and Bebe found this place…" Yosuke said, "We wouldn't be on the right track otherwise…"

Souji looked back at Yosuke, though his anger was overridden by his pain from the betrayal of his friend siding against him.

"Yosuke…" he muttered.

"Seriously, dude, she's been okay for awhile now," Junpei said, "We're gonna save her too. Don't worry."

"I agree we shouldn't separate," Aigis said, "Whether it's to save Nanako-chan or Marie-san, we should stay together to help each other. However, if Tetsuya says we're going after Marie-san, I won't change objectives."

Teddie faced Souji reluctantly, keeping his eye contact elsewhere.

"I wanna save Nana-chan," he said, "But… I wanna save Marie-chan too. What do we do, Sensei…?"

"I think we should split up," Souji said hintingly.

"No!" I barked, "What part of this aren't you getting?! I organized this mission last night. Don't just go changing the plan!"

"I'm leader, too, Tetsuya. My priorities lie with my own mission, which has been in effect since before you even met Marie. Besides, wasn't the original plan to return here to look for Nanako? I thought that was the point in yesterday's meeting."

"Well, I'm not abandoning Marie after promising her brother that she'd be okay!"

"And I'm not abandoning Nanako after promising her father that I'd find her and bring her home!"

"Will the both of you just stop?!" Yukari snapped, grabbing both of our attention and silencing the bickering immediately, "Nobody said anything about abandoning Marie or Nanako. Do you really think that we'd let either of them die? Look, to be totally honest, I would suggest going after Nanako if we knew where she was. The point is, we don't. So let's save Marie first since we know she's here, and use remaining time to look for Nanako. Easy enough?"

"Yes," I said impatiently, "Thank you for explaining it to him."

"Augh, just do your job, Tetsuya," she sighed, keeping her arms crossed.

While it sort of pisses me off that she had to embarrass both of us, I understand it was to make progress in the mission. I turned back to Souji, realizing he was also less than pleased by the scolding. He looked back at me, exasperated.

"Fine. Have it your way. We'll go look for Marie," he hissed.

My irritation faded, relieved by his surrender though also wary of his resent. Well… as long as he stays quiet and does what he's told… This shouldn't be a problem. My eyes fall back to Marie's bubble and I let out my breath slowly through my nostrils. We're coming, Marie… I reached out my hand and placed it against the bubble, allowing it to swallow the rest of me into the world it contained…

* * *

The fall was a bit sharper than I anticipated, and not one of us was able to land on our feet. Even if we had, the large pile we landed on gave out beneath our weight. The objects clattered down with us as we all let out an exclaim, Teddie shrieking all the way down the sudden decline. Whatever we were rolling down was hard and managed to drive into every external part of my body. Wait- if this is hurting me, then Bebe is hurting too! We're feeling this twice!

I finally made it to the base of the pile, facing a pitch black ceiling with other suspended objects. The clatters of plastic still approached, and I looked up at the rest of the group, who were almost at the bottom. I held my arms out to Bebe as he rolled toward me and caught him to assure he landed a little softer than I had, ultimately saving both of us from further discomfort.

"Are you okay?" I asked breathlessly.

"H-Hai," Bebe stammered, still shaken by the fall, "Arigatou, Tetsuya."

"Oww, my ass…" Yosuke grumbled from a distance.

The others began assuring we were all okay, though I knew we were already off to a rough start. Most of us suffered an injury of some sort, and I'm sure we're all bruised pretty badly. The hell did we fall on…? We slowly got to our feet, and as Yukari healed us, I took the opportunity to observe the pile. …huh…? That's strange… As I looked closer, it came to my attention that the pile consisted of cheap plastic toys. A lot of them were demented-looking dolls with missing parts. All of the missing parts appeared to be in another heap beside the one we had landed on, and beside that was a pile of… …worn plush toys.

"Of course we had to land on the pile of pain…" Junpei muttered, noticing this inconvenience.

The piles didn't seem to be the only place for the toys. They were covering the floor too… Even outside this place, they lay haphazard in the doorway that led to a long, messy hallway. Bebe kept close, looking around warily at the area.

"Zey're all over…" he murmured, "Eez zis really ze inside of Marie's dreams…?"

"It's so dark and cramped in here… Yukari muttered, shuddering, "I feel like we're in some sort of giant box…"

I think… I'm starting to understand this environment…

"A toy box…" I said quietly.

Just as the others looked at me, a familiar, but weak voice spoke out,

"_A child… small… tiny… That's how they all see me. It's not like I asked to be this way…__ I try so hard to emphasize my age, but they never see past it. They're always looking down on me… What choice do they have…?"_

"Marie-chan…" Teddie whimpered.

…I see… I guess those girls got to her yesterday more than she let on… She always acted like her height never really bothered her. I wonder how long she's been struggling. A soft touch against my hand brought my attention back to reality, and I met eyes with Teddie. Even in such a weird costume, I can actually see worry in his eyes… Though he harbors conflicted feelings on which leader he should be following, he has a personal agenda… and knows I'm the one on his side. The impact Marie left on his life is something I don't think any of us completely understand, but enough that I know he's scared of losing her… Like Bebe to me, Marie is special to him…

"We won't waste any time," I promised him, then to the rest, "Come on. Let's get moving."

I took the lead into the hallway, trying to avoid the toys on the floor by stepping on the few open spots of solid ground. Plastic clattered behind me as the others struggled to match my pace without stepping on the tripping hazards. The hall stretched several yards before offering any sort of turn, but the piles of toys didn't seem to have any intention of stopping. When we finally reached the end of the hallway, we were left with a split path. I guess I could ask Teddie if he could smell where Marie was…

"Teddie, do you know which way she is?" I asked.

Teddie ran to Souji's and my side enthusiastically, sniffing at the air with a frustrated expression. A low whine emitted from the bear suit, displeased.

"Actually…" he muttered, "I can bear-ly smell her at all now. But that smell from before is stinking it up in here! I can't really tell which direction it's coming from."

"Smell from before?" Junpei asked.

"Yeah, that Shadow-y smell…"

"So the Shadows are still here?" Souji asked, as if he'd expected otherwise.

"Somewhere, but I think they're pretty far away," Teddie responded, "That other smell is either close or it really just stinks that bad…"

He rubbed his nose with a grimace, disturbed by the acrid smell the rest of us couldn't pick up. So much for relying on Teddie's senses… Whatever this… _thing _is that's masking Marie's scent is clearly formidable… Bebe turned to look at me hopefully.

"So, Tetsuya…? Which way?" he asked.

…nice to know he's relying on me as a leader… As I started to motion to the left, Souji pointed in the opposite direction.

"I get the feeling we should head this way," he said, and before I could argue, he began walking.

H-Hey, did he just blow me off? Bebe asked for my call. My call. What the hell is with this guy today? He's narrowed his focus to the point that he's not even open to my opinion… Reluctantly, my thoughts transitioned to a form of acceptance. Who knows…? His intuition about the Shadows was right… maybe he knows what he's talking about… I slid my feet from their place and began to follow behind the other leader unsurely, a little sick as Bebe silently followed me down to the hesitation. I'm supposed to be the leader too… Why doesn't that mean anything…? And why do I get to look like the moron in front of my friends…? Why do I feel like I'm letting everyone down…? Just as we reached the next corner, Souji stopped abruptly and turned around to head in my direction. Out of curiosity, I peeked around to see what had caused the change of mind and realized the hallway shrunk into a small indent, leading nowhere. I wrinkled my nose and turned back where I'd intended to go in the first place…

* * *

We managed to find a staircase after a few trial and errors, but after about three floors we got stuck. I stopped at a split path, refusing to follow any longer. We're going nowhere fast, and we have yet to run into Shadows or even Marie. We haven't even heard her voice since we first came in here… I feel like we're getting further away from her. Souji's leading us nowhere… …literally, nowhere. In fact, I'm sure I saw this exact pile of dolls four times now…

"Hold up," I said abruptly as Souji began turning to the right, "Let me take over for a few floors. I'm starting to feel like we've been here before."

"Everything looks the same here," Souji said, "Of course you feel that way."

He ignored my words and continued on.

"Hey," I snapped, "Didn't you hear me? We've already gone that way."

"We're not going in circles, Tetsuya, this place is just repetitive. It's not my fault Marie couldn't dream of a wider variety of dolls."

"Where the hell are you pulling these accusations from? I didn't say the layout was your fault! But you are taking us in a loop!"

"For the love of God, Tetsuya, we haven't been here before!"

"Would you just listen to me?!" I snapped, "Get your head out of your ass and hear me out!"

"Screw you," Souji hissed back, "I told you, you're wrong. I don't care if you're my senpai; I'm following my instinct before yours. It worked in the past."

"Guys, come on…" Chie groaned.

"Seriously, now's not the time," Yukari said.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'd like to pick a different direction, and I say left," I said, pointing down my choice corridor.

"I say you're dense, and we should go right," Souji argued, pointing down his own direction.

"God, why did we have to make them both leader…?" Yukari sighed.

"I blame Teddie," Aigis said bitterly.

I faced the rest of the group for support, hoping someone would side with me. Instead, they all nervously backed down, looking in every direction that wasn't mine. Luckily, though reluctant, Junpei had my back.

"W-Well… Tetsuya was my leader… and he always knew what was best, so… I-I think we should go with him…" he murmured.

"Now hold on," Yosuke piped up, "Souji was our leader and we never had any trouble at all. Plus, it's been… what… four years since Tetsuya led anything?"

"Yeah, he was dead and he didn't feel any time pass. So it's really only been a few months for him," Junpei said.

"Well… Souji was the one who figured out Nanako was in Nanparaux in the first place. So he's pretty good at figuring things out. Like… when something is safe or not."

"I vote for Sensei," Teddie piped up.

"Ano… I don't want to take sides, demo… If I 'ave to pick, I'm putting my faith in Tetsuya…" Bebe murmured softly.

Chie finally sighed and stepped up to the front of the group beside Souji and me.

"Okay, look. We all trust our respective leader from before. I get it. I really do," she promised, "But if we stay here arguing over whose instinct we should trust, we'll never get anywhere. Either we pick a direction or we split up. You decide."

I looked back at Souji who returned the gaze with a hint of disgust. I'm definitely against splitting up, hence the reason he's so pissed with me, but I don't want to put up with this bastard anymore. Let him figure out that he was wrong on his own. Whatever. I'm not making the others suffer as consequence of his stupid mistake.

"Okay, you know what? Fine. Have it your way. We'll split up from here and meet up at the stairs when I find them down that way," I hissed.

"So glad we did that for Nanako," Souji snarled back.

"Oh, leave it alone, you dick."

"Asshole."

I shook my head and turned away from him, storming off down the correct hallway. I did this plenty of times in Tartarus. Even when I thought I was wrong, I always found the stairs through instinct alone… Footsteps trailed behind me, and I peeked over my shoulder to determine who had sided with me in the end. It was no surprise that I only met the faces of Bebe, Junpei, Yukari, and Aigis. I don't really expect Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, or Teddie to trust me over their leader, and I don't really feel comfortable enough leading them on my own anyway… Still… I guess I'm just a little disappointed only half the group trusts my instinct… I'm glad these four still trust me… I don't know how I'd feel if any of them hadn't followed…

The hallway branched off into two paths, one leading to a very conspicuous dead end. The other appeared much longer and with more rooms. Surely one of these will lead to the next floor…

"Let's check each room separately," I said, "Let me know if you find anything."

Without as much as a moment's hesitation, my party advanced down the hall to check the individual rooms. I took the straight path down the corridor, which stretched out much further than I had expected. My eyes shifted towards the mundane pattern that continued indefinitely down the hall. Something's not right… Either… the patterns are getting bigger or they're getting closer… I looked beside me, only to realize the walls were closing in as well. Immediately, I braked, watching to make sure I wasn't imagining things. The walls aren't… moving… but… the space is certainly getting smaller… …my forehead can nudge the ceiling…

"Tetsuya!"

Bebe came running breathlessly to my side, only to freeze as he noticed the shrinking space as well. It's leading into nothing but a tiny point in the wall… What's that all about…?

"_I'm a dreamer because I have to be… Really, at my height, it's not likely to find a guy who will stay to know me as a person… He'll only see a child… To be with me would destroy his image. I'm a risk no one's willing to take…"_

…a matter of size… …jeez…

I turned back to Bebe, examining his solemn expression until he took notice of my attention.

"Looks like this is a dead end… Did you find anything back there…?" I asked.

To my disappointment, he shook his head.

"Iie," he responded quietly, "Demo… I didn't 'ear from ze ozers. Zey might 'ave found somezing."

I sure hope they did… if not, we're at a complete dead end… …after… after I insisted upon it. Bebe read the thought that must have done something to my expression.

"Eto… I'm sure zey found somezing," he said with an optimistic smile, "After all, we did 'ear Marie again, so we must be getting closer now. You always know what's best for us, ne? Zat's what makes you a great leader."

I chuckled a little at the way he was hamming it up, but it still felt kinda nice to hear from him, even if it was exaggerated for my benefit. I opened my mouth to respond, but a faint noise silenced me immediately. Somewhere behind us came the clanging of a sword… …Junpei…!

"Shit, we gotta go!" I said quickly, taking off back to the other end of the hallway.

Of course the damn Shadows would come out after we split up. This is EXACTLY why we should have been sticking together! Dammit… why did I let my anger change my mind…? I feel like an idiot! As I reached the room Junpei was in, I predictably found him fending off attacking enemies: seven Shadows that took the shape of devilish-looking teddy bears with dangling limbs. They swayed limply in wide swoops, evading Junpei's long sword and leaving him in a storm of profanities as his frustration grew. Quickly, I summoned Yurlungur and sent him into the fray, Napoleon joining with Maragi shortly after Bebe caught up to me. Small bursts of fire took each of the dolls by surprise and distracted them from the flailing Magician in the center, attracting their attention towards the two of us. Immediately, all seven abandoned their previous target and flew at us quickly while emitting ghastly wails that rattled my spine. I tried to shake away the shivers and face the Shadows head-on, but the wails were impairing my focus. I drove my sword into one, but it hadn't been the intended target. The escapee hurdled past me and let out a scream as it prepared to attack Bebe. Fortunately, in a panic, Bebe swung his sword at it and cut it off before it could deal any damage.

The remaining five appeared distressed by the dwindling number and began to wail louder, to which I couldn't help but back away from. At my surrender, two of the dolls came at me full-force. I lifted my sword to repel them, but the sound of a gunshot and a brief fire took one out, severely injuring the second. Aigis came rushing into the fray, a vaguely familiar Persona, Palladion, hovering above her head as it dealt a great deal of damage to the five enemies.

"Is everyone all right?!" she asked.

"We're fine," I responded, "Nice timing, by the way."

One of the dolls took advantage of the brief distraction and dared to go around Aigis, though her perception was acutely directed toward all four of her targets, and she fired mercilessly until it evaporated into black mist. The other three slowly backed off into the long blade in Junpei's hands as he swung the weapon with immense force. Before we could even let out a sigh of relief, a scream came from one of the other rooms across the hall.

"Yuka-tan, hang on!" Junpei shouted.

The four of us bolted to the other room, only to realize with horror that our cluster hadn't been nearly as foreboding as the one Yukari was dealing with. Though smaller in number, the four black Jotun rocking back and forth upon red rocking horses caused a hiccup in my pace. These Shadows are notoriously difficult, and everyone in SEES knows it…

"Shit!" Junpei yelped.

In the center of the cluster was Yukari, unarmed. Her bow was a good five feet from her at least, well out of any of our reach. She grasped desperately at the air for something, likely her card, which wasn't materializing for some reason. Without another moment to hesitate, I pushed forward, my sword drawn in offense. The Jotun pulled their attention away from our fallen comrade to take notice to the oncoming attack. All four began charging Deathbound in attempt to delay my move, but I'd already thought ahead. I quickly dashed my blade against the one closest to me and darted to the side, leaving the Shadows forced to redirect their attack away from the others. By then, Junpei, Aigis, and Bebe had already followed behind to claim an enemy of their own. I stooped by Yukari's bow, grabbing it up and tossing it to her so she could resume as soon as possible. Between Junpei's, Bebe's, Yukari's, and my attacks, and the loud firing of Aigis', the Jotun appeared flustered by the sudden number of us and began to attack more furiously. One was particularly hell-bent on getting rid of me, throwing itself forward in heavy rocks in attempt to head-butt me. They don't appear immune to any of our attacks as of yet, so physical, Agi, Bufu, and Zio skills are safe. If only we had an analyst…

My vision went white briefly, and a throbbing pain took over my head. I didn't feel an impact, though, and I don't think the enemy came close enough to find any sort of opening… why…? … …no! Shit! I looked up in time to see Bebe hit the ground and his sword hit the floor with a clatter. The Jotun closed in on him as he struggled to rise again.

"Bebe!" I cried out, trying to run to him and fend off the approaching Shadow.

To my irritation, my enemy was still in my face, blocking my path no matter where I wanted to turn. Bebe managed to regain his senses in time to notice his enemy and roll out of the way of a second strike. He clambered for his sword desperately. He may have time to attack again… but I'm not taking that risk. I can't let that bastard touch him again! I clenched my fist into my card tightly with only one Persona in mind. One I trusted would never let me down. Especially not in a situation like this… Please… Please, help me…

A familiar, terrifying roar split the air as Thanatos emerged. An entire deck of giant playing cards with spears fell from above, driving into each of the Jotun relentlessly and without fail until they perished in four puffs of black mist. The five of us looked around at each other. Junpei, Bebe, and Yukari all trembled faintly, but Aigis and I still stood perfectly still Though the Shadows were gone for the moment, I wasn't convinced we were safe just yet.

"Aigis… can you sense any others?" I asked quietly.

She looked off at the hallway, her eyes darting about various places as she searched for sign of movement. Finally, she relaxed and lowered her guard.

"No," she said, "We seem to have emerged from this victorious for now."

With her confirmation, the rest of us were able to relax and let out a breath. Junpei approached Yukari first with his hand extended, so I went to Bebe and helped him to his feet. He placed his hand to his forehead as he stood up. I felt faint for a moment as the pain came throbbing back to my head and I gripped a little tighter on his hand.

"Are you okay…?" I asked him.

"H-Hai, and you?" he asked, "You're 'urt too, ne?"

"It's not too bad…" I said, trying to keep him from worrying.

Luckily, he seemed to see through it and had Napoleon cast Mediarama on the group anyway.

Yukari shuddered as Junpei released her hand.

"I'm sorry…" she croaked.

…huh…? Is she… crying…?

"Yukari?" I asked.

She turned back to me, not quite in tears though it was visibly taking quite a bit of her strength to keep them back.

"I couldn't… I couldn't summon Isis…" she said, "Even facing death. If I just had my Evoker, it'd be easy, y'know? But it's just like before… I can't do it…"

She couldn't look me in the eye anymore, speaking to the floor at my feet. A sinking feeling in my chest left me without an immediate response for her. I hadn't really noticed that she never summoned Isis in the Dream World before. I always thought it was part of her strategy… I don't imagine that she can't summon a Persona anymore, but it certainly is a dramatic change for her. It was hard enough for her to use her Evoker in the beginning; trying to summon a Persona with something she has to materialize can't be easy on her. But still… the fact that I never took notice to something so serious, and then had the group split up like that… shit… I really haven't focused much on any of them since all this shit came up. What would I have done if we hadn't gotten to her in time…?

"Yuka-tan, you can't beat yourself up for that. You're still getting used to this new summoning method," Junpei said, "We all are."

"Even for me," Aigis said, "I was only able to summon Palladion just today. Since I was programmed to summon my Persona differently, this has been a difficult method to alter."

"And I 'ad only summoned mine once before coming 'ere," Bebe said, "Ze Evoker was ze way I was taught, but zis eez ze way I was trained…"

Yukari sighed and stood a little straighter.

"I know…" she said quietly, "I just wish… I wasn't the one having trouble again."

She looked to me, composed and ready for a change of subject.

"Did you find the way out?" she asked.

…I wasn't quite willing to have the subject change back to that, but I guess this is the matter at hand… Shit… The delay in my response had everyone's faces, aside from Bebe's, fallen. If I could see my own, I'd probably look pretty stupid and lost… They all trusted me… and I blew this.

"Let's… let's just head back…" I said quietly, the bitter words struggling to release.

No longer wanting to see the others' expressions, I turned my back to them and began leading the group back to the original split path. If I'm lucky, Souji's group had no better luck, but I'm pretty much hoping for impossibilities at this point. What happened back there…? What got the better of me…? Pride? Doubt? I know I'm better than this… They know I'm better than this… What am I doing anymore…? I can't focus on anyone in my team the way I used to, my instinct has gone to shit, and I'm letting stupid emotions cloud my judgment. I'm not the leader I used to be… I'm going to put someone in a bad place, like I did today. And someone's going to get hurt worse… Knowing that Bebe and I are suffering each other's pain, this is the worst possible timing. If I get us killed… … …

I heard quickening footsteps and a presence caught up to walk beside me as we reached the split path once more. Bebe walked close to me, not quite touching but enough to feel his warmth. He spared me eye contact for awhile, seeming unsure of what to do or say though he clearly wished he could do something to help. It's nice to know that even when I falter, Bebe will always stay loyal to me. At least if the others doubt me or if I doubt myself, there will be someone who believes I can do right. Whether he's right or not… he won't let me be completely alone. I reached for his hand and gave it a brief squeeze before letting it go again.

The new hallway was much like the last, filled with rooms full of dolls but otherwise empty. There were no signs of Shadows, but that didn't mean there hadn't been any. The hall appeared to stretch into another point in the wall, but the room on the very end appeared to lead to a larger space. I took a deep breath, knowing exactly what I was about to find. Sure enough, there was the rest of the group, standing around the stair case and relaxed as if they'd been waiting around awhile. When they noticed us approaching they stood straight again, pushing off the walls they'd been leaning against or whatever otherwise comfortable position and prepared to advance. Staring from the front… staring from the back… I'd just like to feel like I'm not the one holding all the attention right now… I guessed wrong… just leave me to that thought and don't say anything about it…

"Looks like Souji was right after all," Yosuke said almost mockingly as the rest caught up.

Seriously, screw this asshole!

"Yeah, yeah. It's not like it was a major setback," I grumbled.

The way the others continue to stare at me condescendingly, Yosuke in particular, doesn't make me feel any better at all, and it's frankly pissing me off. I can almost feel the disappointment from my own group radiating into my back, from Junpei and Bebe especially since they were the ones trying to defend me.

"We're just glad you made it out all right," Yukiko said, "You didn't get ambushed too, did you?"

"It could have been worse," Yukari responded, "We've dealt with worse swarms. Just some Shadows and a dead end."

"Still, running into a dead end wasted time we can't afford to lose," Souji said, glancing in my direction as a well-aimed shot at my ego.

"Okay, lay off already," I hissed.

"One of you 'ad to be wrong. Eet's not like eizer of you are perfect and eet's not like Tetsuya knew any less zan you did," Bebe said defensively, "We're not fighting over who eez wrong and who eez right. We're fighting to save Marie and Nanako-chan."

"Well-put," Chie agreed.

"Whatever, man," Yosuke sighed, "My faith in Souji has only grown stronger. I think we've found the leader we should trust."

A faint but proud smile curved Souji's lips, taking yet another shot at my already weakened self-esteem. The funny thing about fighting is the tendency to lower one's maturity as well… We began climbing the stairs and I took my place at the front with Souji once more, my entire body burning with anger and spite. Though I knew it wasn't going to help the situation, I wasn't about to let this go without a fight. I wasn't going to let him berate me in front of my team, and especially not take it in front of Bebe. I'm better than that. I'm not a doormat. I might not be what I used to be, but I can still be a leader. And the first step is not letting anyone else talk shit to me and expecting me to back down. I leaned closer to him and spoke under my breath, though loud enough that he could hear me.

"In terms of leadership… your instinct might have been right this time," I said, "But at least I'm nobody's bitch."

Souji looked at me sharply, his eyes wide and glaring. Something in that look told me I'd said something a little stronger than intended, but I refused to back down from my statement. I wasn't going to shudder as the cold chill channeled through my spine either.

"You take that back," he snarled.

I looked straight ahead and quickened my pace to leave him behind me as I reached the top first.

"Take it back, Tetsuya! I'm not kidding!"

Hell no, you bastard. You asked for it. I chose to ignore him and leave my insult rotting him from the inside out. The new area was so open… I walked ahead a few more paces and heard the others keeping a casual pace behind me. Well… save for one…

"What? What did he say, Sensei?" Teddie asked curiously.

"I SAID TAKE IT BACK!"

From behind me, I heard a shatter and a resonating surge that grew rapidly and increasingly louder. Oh my God, he really went that far. That bastard! I whipped around quickly enough to summon Thor and absorb the Zio skill headed directly toward me. Souji already had Izanagi going in for another hit before I even had a chance to switch out Personae.

"WHOA! What the hell, man?!" Yosuke cried.

"Stop it, Souji!" Chie barked.

Thor managed to fend off Izanagi once, sending him back far and long enough that I could switch to Orpheus without a problem. As soon as I switched, Izanagi was flying at Orpheus full-force.

"Take it back, you bastard!" Souji shouted, initiating a physical shot at my Persona.

Orpheus blocked the hit as best he as could, enough that I didn't feel the impact.

"You're only taking it that strongly because you know it's true!" I snapped.

"SHUT UP!" he roared, and Izanagi took another strike at Orpheus.

"Souji-kun, leave 'im alone!" Bebe yelled.

"Stay out of this, Bebe, don't put your nose where it doesn't belong!" Souji yelled.

That does it, you son of a bitch.

Orpheus reared at Izanagi with an Agi attack, blasting him with fire and extracting a scream from my opponent.

"Tetsuya! Stop eet!" Bebe barked.

But I couldn't stop it. Souji was already switching to another Persona, which took the form of a large black Jack Frost, and initiated Bufudyne. Son of a bitch! I switched to Yurlungur and attacked with Garudyne, simultaneously absorbing the ice. I can't let myself be hit with Bufu-skills. He knows as well as the others that something weird is going on with Bebe and me, and since Napoleon doesn't handle ice well I can't afford to take risks! He's not thinking about who he's putting at risk! I didn't either when I made the remark, but I didn't expect him to take it this seriously!

"Souji-kun, whatever it was, let it go!" Yukiko cried, "We're all on the same team!"

"Yeah, c'mon, we're supposed to be looking for Marie!" Junpei insisted.

Black Frost came at Yurlungur with Agidyne and I began to get flustered, combating with Garudyne again and weakening my opponent and his Persona. He recovered immediately following the hit and started to approach me again.

"Souji, knock it off!" Yosuke barked.

Souji stopped to catch his breath for a moment. He stared at me for a long time, filling the air with a heavy tension that had my guard up as high as it could possibly go. I dare him to attack me again. Slowly, his body hesitantly began to yield and he let out an irritable "tch" to let me know I wasn't worth his time before turning his back on me and slinking back to the others. What an idiot. All he's doing is proving my statement.

"Exactly. That's what a submissive bitch does," I said.

I'll admit that instigating the continuation of our fight was a huge mistake, which I figured out quickly as Souji charged at me again with Kohryu at the front, Ziodyne at the ready. I switched to Thanatos as a reflex, though I remembered that Thanatos doesn't null or reflect such elements. In addition to the throbbing pain that surged through Thanatos' being and through my soul, I had to focus on avoiding a second hit that followed directly after. Jeez, why can't he use this energy and speed in battles that matter?! Or in looking for Marie?!

The others screamed angrily at both of us to stop fighting, though not willing to get involved themselves. I don't even care anymore. I can't afford to let him get another hit. I just have to end this quickly. Through some surge of adrenaline and panic, I somehow managed to summon the Magician Persona Surt again, attacking viciously with Deathbound. Only slightly fazed, Souji quickly healed via Diarahan and attacked me again with Ziodyne. The electricity was far more painful than anything I had felt in a long time, whiting out my vision temporarily, but I refused to let it hinder me in the slightest. As Souji switched back to his initial Persona, I mimicked the movement and went in to attack with Bash. Shit-! What am I even doing?! Orpheus is weak against Izanagi's main element! Doesn't matter. I have to win this. To my relief, Izanagi went in to attack with Cleave, attempting to counter the physical attack. Try to double your strength, Orpheus. Please…

Izanagi's sword clashed with Orpheus' harp, but both were suddenly broken away by a third party who threw himself between them, detaching the touching weapons and creating a spacious gap between the two Personae. Napoleon rammed against both of them forcefully, dealing a fair amount of pressurized pain against my chest as Orpheus was struck by the portly Persona's weight. What the hell-?!

Bebe took a stand in front of me, absolutely brimming with rage that was well-aimed at both Souji and me. His hair stood up in the back and his entire body trembled violently.

"DAMMIT, BOZ OF YOU JUST STOP EET!" he shrieked, "Tetsuya, you tell 'im you're sorry! Nozing eez worth more zan your safety, no matter if you were right or not! Souji-kun, if you come at Tetsuya again, so 'elp me GOD I will not 'old back anyzing and I WILL get involved in zis fight just to kick your ass! BACK. ZE 'ELL. OFF."

Though I'm always brought back to reality when Bebe loses his temper, I was more distracted by his quaking. This isn't shaking with rage, something's wrong. He's hurting… And I'm not the only one who sees it either…

"B-Bebe? Are you okay…?" Souji asked.

He teetered to the side once, swaying left in attempt to retain his balance. I was thankful to be closest to him, being the one to catch him when he stumbled and took a sharp fall against my chest.

"Bebe?! What's wrong?! What happened?!" I asked, scared out of my mind by his weak state.

…weak…?

…oh my God. I was hit. I was hit twice. Yeah, I can handle it, but Bebe's not used to handling pain the same way I am. How bad is it…?

"Bebe…?! Can you hear me?!" I asked, growing more frantic.

"H-Hai… I'm okay…" Bebe croaked, slowly putting weight on his legs and attempting to stand on his own again, though it was proving difficult as he was unable to without leaning on me for support.

"Here, let me help…" Souji said quietly, going to us quickly as he switched to a support-oriented Persona. Hell, I don't want him anywhere near Bebe! He's already done enough!

"Hey—back off!" I barked.

"I'm trying to heal him, you asshole!" Souji yelled at me defensively.

"Shut up!" Bebe snapped, "Boz of you just shut up! Nobody wants to 'ear eet! Neizer of you 'ave anyzing to be proud of right now!"

He broke away from me sharply, attempting to summon Napoleon to heal. His Persona left the card, but appeared to be moving more lethargically than before. Bebe's and my own pain didn't vanish at all. He must have used up a good bit of his and Napoleon's strength back during the ambush. I brought Yurlungur forth to cast Diarahan, but to my surprise, my Persona had also grown too weak to cast another spell. How much spirit energy did we use…?

Souji sighed, knowing full-well I wasn't going to give in and accept the charity from him. Yukari approached the three of us and handed us each some medicine from the pharmacy bag, which helped a little, but not enough. My body is shaky and everything's starting to feel tired. At least I can see that the others are feeling the same… Souji looked to the rest of the group.

"We've been in here awhile…" he said, "Maybe it's time for us to surface and call it a day. We'll pick up back here tomorrow morning…"

He's doing it again… And I can't even argue this time, not with Bebe's condition… He looked at me sharply.

"Is that all right with you?" he asked, then adding sourly, "_Senpai?_"

Could have done without the sarcasm, but I'll take it for what it is.

"It's fine," I grumble.

The others slowly began fading away one by one, surfacing to wake until tomorrow. I looked at Bebe once more, and he looked back at me angrily before fading. Eventually, I was left standing alone. All I thought before… maybe… I'm doing this wrong. Bebe should always be my priority, meaning that leading this group should come second to his safety. If backing down and taking crap once in awhile means keeping him safe, that's what I'll have to do… I don't want him thinking poorly of me… thinking I can't lead or that I can't be dependable… but if I have to sacrifice what he thinks of my leadership for what he thinks of my dependability, then maybe that's how it'll have to be. If I can't keep up with Souji as a leader… If I can't protect the people in my group anymore…

Then maybe… I shouldn't be pretending I still can.

* * *

By the time we returned to the courtyard, it was far later in the day than we'd expected. We all went our separate ways without much conversation to exchange. After a late lunch, Bebe and I stopped by the hospital to visit Pierre and Marie, just to assure Marie was still holding up. Teddie was just on his way out before we went inside. He let us know Marie was still in the coma, but breathing at least. He kept his eyes on the ground.

"Sensei will always be my sensei…" he said, "But you're my sensei too, Tetsuya… I know you want to help Marie as much as I do… Even if you and Sensei fight again, I'll still be your bear."

He left without waiting for me to say anything else. Admittedly, it was sort of nice knowing that someone didn't hate me for what happened earlier. Bebe and I stepped inside Marie's room, only to find that Pierre was still in the room with her, his body slumped over the side of the bed as he slept with his hand holding onto his sister's lightly. Someone had left a blanket draped over his shoulders. With neither of them awake, we decided not to stay long.

I stepped out into the hallway again and stopped in the middle, listening for Bebe's footsteps behind mine.

"What were you zinking…?"

I turned around, realizing Bebe had stopped much further behind. He looked at me, less angry than before but definitely still disappointed.

"You were doing fine, Tetsuya… you didn't 'ave to attack Souji-kun like zat…"

I frowned.

"In case you didn't notice, he attacked me first," I said indignantly, "I had to fight back to keep both of us from getting hurt."

"'E didn't do zat out of nowhere, Tetsuya," Bebe said sternly, "Don't treat me like I'm stupid. I know you can be 'arsh wiz your words. And even when 'e stopped, you 'ad to jab again. Zat's not ze Tetsuya I know… I expected better from you…"

Great, now I'm making him feel like I think he's stupid. Can't do anything right today… Maybe I should just shut up… I looked away again, avoiding anything else that might get me in trouble. He's doing that thing again, just like before. At a time he should be yelling at me, but he's acting so damn calm about it… I heard him sigh and his footsteps approached me slowly. His arms wrapped around me from behind and his chin rested on my shoulder affectionately. …wasn't he just scolding me…?

"Onegaishimasu… please… don't put so much pressure on yourself… You always push yourself so 'ard… I don't like to see you 'urt… Eet's okay to make mistakes…" he said.

"I could have gotten you and Yukari killed today, Bebe… Some mistakes aren't forgivable for making…" I told him.

"But we're fine, Tetsuya…" he said, "You made sure of zat… Even zough I didn't need ze 'elp… You protected us… I know being wrong bozered you, but eet doesn't make you a bad leader… Souji-kun 'ad 'is share of faults, too. Neizer of you were at your best today… everyone 'as bad days…"

Bad day… more like a bad week. Ever since all this started, I haven't been the leader I used to be. I constantly find myself hindered more often, and when Bebe's in danger… Back in the days of SEES, Bebe was my amplifier. He made me fight harder, made me stronger. Now, I… I'm barely even strong at all. Can I even tell him something like… I might not be able to always keep him safe…? That I'm not the one he used to look up to…?

"I'm sorry, Bebe…"

Bebe lifted his head from my shoulder and looked at me.

"Tetsuya…?"

My body let out the slightest tremble.

"…I won't let you down like that again…" I whispered.

Bebe's hold on me tightened a little.

"I know you won't, mon chéri…" he whispered back, "Just zink of Yukari-sama… She can't summon 'er Persona right now… but… zat doesn't mean she never will again. Eet will come back in time… And no matter what, she's still fighting wiz us."

I looked back at him.

"I'm still fighting too," I promised, "No matter what it takes, I want to make sure we get Marie out of there as soon as possible. You didn't give up on Ivon, and I'm not giving up on her… I'm not giving up on any of you…"

A smile spread across his lips.

"Zere 'e eez…" he said quietly, "Zat's ze Tetsuya I fell in love wiz…"


End file.
